| LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf ,IB3S4- 
1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SERIES 



LECTURE SERMONS, 



DELIVERED AT THE 



SECOND UNIVERSALIST MEETING, 
IN BOSTON. 

/ 

BY HOSEA BALLOU, PASTOR. 



THIRD ED. STEREOTYPED. 

R»T!§£D BT THE AUTHOR. 



"Seaich the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye hare eternal life, and .hey are lh#f 
which testify of me." — Jesus Christ. 
• Let us go on to perfection." — St. Paul. 



BOSTON : 



A. TOMPKINS 



1860. 



<*$>* 

$ 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1832, by 

Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 
n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



CONTENTS. 



LECTURE I. 

The Objects of Salvation: and its nature. 

1 Timothy, 1. 35. — " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all 
acceptation, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; 
of whom I am chief." . . . . .7 

LECTURE II. 

The Divine Character the source of all the grace 
manifested in the gospel : And the standard for our imi- 
tation. 

Matthew, v. 84. — " Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." . . . , . 20 

LECTURE III. 
The Law, cdnsistent with the Promises. 
Galatians, iii. 21. — " Is the law then against the promises of 
God? God forbid." . . . . . .35 

LECTURE IV. 

Love, the centre of all the Divine attributes. 
1 John, iv. 16.—" God is love." . .47 

LECTURE V. 

Man originally made subject to vanity and to hope. 

Romans, viii. 20. — " For the creature was made subject to vanity, 
not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in 
hope." . . . . . . .61 

• 

LECTURE VI. 

Salvation impartial and universal. 

Isaiah, xxv. 6, 7, 8. — " And in this mountain shall the Lord of 
hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on 
the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well re- 
fined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the cover- 
ing cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 
He will swallow up deatli in victory ; and the Lord God will wipe 
away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he 
take away from off all the earth : for the Lord hath spoken it." 75 



4 CONTENTS. 

LECTURE VII. 

The burning up of the proud and of all that do wick- 
, edly. 

Malachi, iv. 1. — " For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as 
an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be 
stubble ; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the 
Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." 89 

LECTURE VIII. 

The story of Joseph, an illustration of Christ's king- 
dom. 

Deuteronomy, xxxiii, 16, 17. — " Let the blessing come upon the 
head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was sepa- 
rated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bul- 
lock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns : with them he 
shall push the people together to the ends of the earth ; and they 
are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of 
Manasseh." . . . . . . 103 

LECTURE IX. 

The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. 

Matthew, xii. 31 , 32. — " Wherefore I say unto you, All manner 
of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blasphe- 
my against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And 
whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be for- 
given him : but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall 
not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to 
come." . . . . . .117 

LECTURE X. 

The Scripture doctrine of election. 

Romans, xi. 7. — What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which 
he seeketh for j but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were 
blinded. 132 

LECTURE XI. 

God reconciling the world unto himself through 
Christ. 

2d. Corinthians, v. 18, 19, 20. — And all things are of God, who 
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and bath given to us 
th^ ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, rec- 
onciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them ; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. INow 
then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech 
you by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to 
God 145 

LECTURE XII. 

All men drawn to Christ. 

John, xii. 32.—" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto me." ..... 160 



CONTENTS. 6 

LECTURE XIII. 

Christ sowing the good seed, in tears. 
Psalm, cxxvi. 6. — "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing 

Srecious seed shall, doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing 
is sheaves with him." .... 173 

LECTURE XIV. 

Entering into life maimed; and being cast into hell. 

Mark, ix. 43, 44. — " And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is 
better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to 
go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; — Where 
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." . . 188 

LECTURE XV. 

All men the children of God. Destruction of the 
devil. 

Hebrews, ii. 14, 15. — " Forasmuch then as the children are par- 
takers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
same ; that through death he might destroy him that had the power 
of death, that is, the devil ; — And deliver them who, through fear 
of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." . 202 

LECTURE XVI. 

The second death 

Revelation, xxi. 8. — " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the 
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and 
idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which 
burnetii with fire and brimstone ; which is the second death." 216 

LECTURE XVII. 

Salvation, a deliverance from error and sin, through 
the mercy of God. 

2 Timothy, i. 9, 10. — " Who hath saved us, and called us with an 
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own 
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the 
world began : — But is now made manifest by the appearing of our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel." . . 231 

LECTURE XVIII. 

Explanation of Matthew xxiv. and xxv. 

Matthew, xxv. 46. — " And these shall go away mto everlasting 
punishment : but the righteous into life eternal." . . 246 

LECTURE XIX. 

Righteousness and wickedness recompensed on earth. 

Proverbs, xi. 31. — " Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed 
in the earth ; much more the wicked and the sinner." . 262 



6 CONTENTS. 

LECTURE XX. 

Divine goodness in the destruction of the Sodomites 
and other sinners. 

Ezekiel, xvi. last of 50. — " Therefore I took them away as I saw 
good." . . . . . . 276 

LECTURE XXI. 

Vexation of false religion. 

Isaiah, xxviii. last of 19. — " And it shall be a vexation only to 
understand the report." ..... 291 

LECTURE XXII. 

God's unchangeable love to sinners the cause of 
Christ's mission. 

Romans, v. 8. — "But God commendeth his love toward as, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." . 306 

LECTURE XXIII. 

The resurrection a state of holiness and bliss. 

1. Thessalonians, iv. 13. — " But I would not have you to be 
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sor- 
row not, even as others which have no hope." . . 320 

LECTURE XXIV. 

"The resurrection of life;" and "the resurrection 
of damnation. 

John, v. 28, 29. — " Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, 
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall 
come forth : they that have done good, unto the resurrection of 
life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of dam- 
nation." . . . . . . .334 

LECTURE XXV. 

All God's judgments issue in love. 
Zephaniah, iii. part 17. — " He will rest in his love." . 348 

LECTURE XXVI. 

The healing efficacy of Christ's doctrine. 
Mark, v. 31. — " Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and 
sayest thou, who touched me?" . ... 362 



LEC1 V sx£j i. 

THE OBJECTS OF SALVATION ; AND ITS NATURE. 

1. TIMOTHY, i. 15. 

■* This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, That Christ Jesua 
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am Chief." 

The subject on which the Apostle was speaking, 
and which led him to make the important declaration 
contained in our text, is worthy of special notice. 
Under a deep sense of the goodness of God, the grace 
which he had received in the Lord Jesus, the dis- 
tinguished and important station in which he was 
placed by the great Captain of our salvation, it was 
impossible for him not to take a most humiliating re- 
trospective view of his past life in the Jews' religion, 
while an enemy to Jesus, a blasphemer, and a perse- 
cuter of the church. All these weighty considerations 
having their natural operations on his mind, seemed to 
present, in full view, before his mental vision, the great 
and glorious errand on which the Lord Jesus was sent 
into our world. If it could have been so, that the Apos- 
tle, while engaged in the ministry of Jesus, could have 
retained his former confidence in his own righteous- 
ness, and had been of opinion, that he was a favorite 
of heaven, that he was enlightened into the knowledge 
of the gospel, and even put into the ministry because 
his former conduct had merited these favors, it is evi- 
dent that such views could never have led him to 
make the statement found in our text. Confirmed in 
such a persuasion, he would have preached a Saviour 
for the righteous, yea, for the righteous only. He 



O BALLOU S LECTURES. 

would have despised the least intimation of the salva- 
tion of sinners. He would, no doubt, have looked on 
such intimation, as an heresy of a most dangerous ten- 
dency. But the case with the great Apostle of the 
Gentiles was very different. He had been led to see 
that not as a righteous man, but as the chief of sin- 
ners he had been visited with the abundance of that 
grace by which he was so highly distinguished. He 
therefore looked on himself as sufficient proof of the 
testimony which he bore. Such as the following were, 
no doubt, the reflections of his mind ; I know for cer- 
tainty, that I was a most deadly enemy of this lovely 
Jesus whom I now delight to serve ; I know, that in 
my opposition to this religion, I was exceedingly mad, 
and I caused many of the harmless, inoffensive disci- 
ples of Christ, both men and women, to feel the 
weight of my displeasure. Such was my blind zeal, 
such the enmity that rankled in my heart against him 
and his doctrine, who was a friend to sinners, that " I 
thought I ought to do many things contrary to the 
name of Jesus ;" and I persecuted the saints " unto 
the death." But, O wonderful to behold ! I am now 
a most joyful subject of that grace to which I was such 
an enemy. From such reflections might very justly 
be drawn this conclusion ; " This is a faithful saying, 
and worthy of all acceptation , that Christ Jesus came 
into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief." 
This testimony, that Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners is sufficiently corroborated by 
other scriptures. When those, in the days of Jesus, 
who thought they were righteous and despised others, 
found fault with the Saviour, because he was a friend 
to sinners, he plainly told them, that he " came not to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance ;" he fur- 
thermore represented the same divine truth in that re- 
markably instructive saying; " The whole need not a 
physician, but they that are sick." Moreover, he en- 
larged on this subject in several beautiful parables, the 
design of which was to represent the repentance of 
sinners. The blessed Redeemer testified that " God 
sent not his son into the world, to condemn the world 



but that the world through him might be saved." The 
declaration of the Angel to Joseph, " Thou shalt call 
his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their 
sins," is in direct proof of what is testified in our 
text. 

There are two good reasons why Jesus was not sent 
to call the righteous. First. There were none. 
" When God looked down from heaven upon the chil- 
dren of men, to see if there were any that did under- 
stand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, the- 
are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doeth 
good, no, not one." After the Apostle had de- 
scribed, in his epistle to the Romans, the abominable 
character of the wicked, he adds ; " What then, are 
we better than they ? no, in no wise : for we have 
before proved both ? Jews and Gentiles, that they 
are all under sin ; as it is written, There is none right- 
eous, no, not one." Again to the same point ; " For 
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." 
Secondly. If there had been any righteous, they 
would not have needed Jesus to call them to repen- 
tance. It is as improper for a righteous man to re- 
pent, as it is for a well man to take medicine. If the 
man in health should take medicine, it would be likely 
to render him indisposed ; and if a righteous man 
should repent, he would render himself wicked. 

If it be allowed, as has been proved, that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that 
the gospel seeks, as subjects of its grace, sinners only, 
then it should never be argued, that there are some 
who cannot be saved because they are sinners. — This 
contains the absurdity, that, that which renders 
salvation necessary is an objection to it. If we 
may further notice the observation of the Saviour 
it is pertinent to remark on the impropriety of say- 
ing, that because the patient is sick, therefore the 
physcian will administer or prescribe nothing. Nor 
would the extremity of a case render the objection in 
the least plausible, unless the malady was of such a 
nature as to bid defiance to the power of medicine ; 
but on the contrary, the more indisposed the patient 



10 

might be, the greater would be the urgency for relief. 
It is granted, that this calculation is not a little wide 
from that which is more common, in which it is sup- 
posed, that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ may ex- 
tend to the condition of those who are sinners in a 
certain degree, beyond which point our spiritual phy- 
sicians justify themselves in saying the grace of God 
can never extend. However, no small encouragement 
is derived from the divine testimony, that " where sin 
abounded, grace did much more abound : that as sin 
hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign 
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ 
our Lord." These blessed words are " like apples of 
gold in pictures of silver." Never was cold water to 
the thirsty soul so grateful as these words of eternal 
life. 

The attention of the hearer is now most earnestly 
invited to the consideration of the following question. 
What did Christ Jesus come into the world to save 
sinners from ? Your public servant has heretofore la- 
bored this question in this place ; but being persuaded 
that the general sentiment entertained among profess- 
ed christians on this question is not according to scrip- 
ture, it is felt to be a duty to endeavor to throw as 
much light on the subject as the present opportunity 
will permit. 

No doubt many of the audience have already made 
up their minds, that the question proposed with so 
much solicitude is very easily answered, and is too 
free from difficulty to render much attention to the 
subject necessary. 

Though it is greatlv to be wished that this were the 
case, it is presumed that a concise view of the gener- 
ally received opinion, on this subject, will at once dis- 
cover, that erroneous notions have been and still are 
entertained of it. 

The general opinion, which we shall endeavor to 
disprove, supposes that " Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners" from the demands of vindictive 
justice, which recognized the whole sinful family of 
man under the penalty of endless punishment, fre- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 11 

quently called eternal death. This opinion of the 
penalty required by the divine law is expressed in the 
Catechism as follows ; " All mankind, by reason of the 
fall, lost communion with God, fell under his wrath 
and curse, was made liable to the miseries of this life, 
to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever." From 
the everlasting pains of hell, the same creed teaches 
us to believe, that Jesus Christ was appointed to save 
a part, and but a part of mankind. The way by which 
it is supposed that the Saviour undertook to save sin- 
ners from eternal punishment, was by suffering the 
penalty in room of the sinner ; so that justice being 
satisfied, pardon and everlasting salvation could be 
granted to the guilty without any infringement of strict 
justice- Dr. Watts expresses this scheme of salvation 
nearly as follows ; 

" I was a rebel doom'd to fire, 
Doom'd to endure eternal pains, 
He on the wings of swift desire, 
Assum'd my guilt and took my chains." 

Again; 

He quenched his Father's flaming sword 
In his own vital blood." 

But it is needless to take up time to be very partic- 
ular in showing what this common sentiment is, for 
the most of us have been learning it from the begin- 
ning of childhood. 

Some of the objections to this scheme of salvation 
are the following; 1st. The total silence of the divine 
testimony respecting this supposed penalty of the di- 
vine law. In the divine threatening denounced in the 
garden there is nothing intimated concerning this 
penalty of " eternal death," or the " pains of hell for- 
ever." In the malediction on Cain for the murder of 
his brother, there is nothing on this hereafter eternal 
penalty. In all the law given by Moses, containing a 
minute description of most terrible curses, which in 
severity extend to the utmost capacity of man to suf- 
fer in this life, there is not a single suggestion relating 



12 

to this penalty of eternal punishment in a future state. 

2. The supposition of such a penalty seems dishon- 
orable to the divine Being, because it could not have 
been enacted with any design to reclaim the sinner 
and must, therefore, be entirely repugnant to the char- 
acter of God as a Father of his creatures. A parent 
cannot, consistently with parental love, subject a child 
to any penalty for faults committed, which in room of 
being directed to reform, would inevitably prevent re- 
pentance and reformation forever. The word of God 
informs us that he " is love," and that he is " our Fa- 
ther in Heaven." Now if this be true, the opinion, 
that there ever was any vindictive wrath in God, which 
demanded the sinner's eternal banishment from our 
Father in heaven must be an egregious error, and one 
that very much obscures and dishonor the ever bless- 
ed Father of our spirits. 

3. If mankind justly deserved this supposed penal- 
ty, on account of sins committed against the divine- 
law, how could it possibly be just for one who was 
not a sinner to suffer it ? To condemn the innocent, 
and clear the guilty is strictly forbidden in the law. 

4. The supposition, that this penalty did actually 
lie against the sinners which Jesus came to save, and 
that he, in the sinner's room and stead, did actually 
surfer this penalty, embraces the absurd suppoition 
that Jesus suffered eternal misery in a few days. 

5. If according to the common opinion, the penalty 
of the law subjected men " to all the miseries of this 
life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever," if 
Jesus suffered the penalty for the elect why are the 
elect any more liable now in this state to the miseries 
of this life and to death itself, than to the pains of hell 
forever ? Most surely, if Jesus bore the whole penalty 
of the law in room and stead of the sinner, then it cer- 
tainly cannot be just for the sinner to bear one part of 
this penalty any more than another. But there are none 
who do not partake of the miseries of this life in some 
degree ; and there are none who are exempt from 
death. 

Having shown that the common opinion respecting 



BALLOU'S LECTURES 13 

salvation is erroneous, having no scripture authority 
for its support and being contrary to all revealed jus- 
tice, we may proceed to notice some direct evidence 
from scripture against it. But here we may be con- 
cise. In the law given by Moses, there is a continued 
thread of plain testimony, that as a nation the house 
of Israel would be punished accordingly as they should 
depart from the statutes and judgments which the 
Lord commanded them : and accordingly we are in- 
formed in the sacred pages, that God punished them 
from time to time as their perverse and wicked con- 
duct deserved. So likewise are we assured, that the 
divine Being punished other nations for their wicked- 
ness : such as Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Egypt, &c. 
In relation to the crimes of individuals we well know 
that God instituted penalties according to the nature 
of offences, and gave special directions concerning 
their being duly inflicted. This is not only true in 
respect to the laws of Israel, but it is likewise true in 
respect to all nations. He that holds the sword is the 
minister of God. Now if all this, which is as plain as 
any thing in the scriptures, be granted, what room is 
there for the supposition that the penalty due to trans- 
gression is punishment in the future eternal world ? 
Or what reason have we to believe that Jesus suffered 
in room and stead of transgressors ? This same Jesus 
Christ of whom it is believed, that he suffered the pen- 
alty of our sins in our room, that we might not suffer 
it, plainly states, that he will " reward every man ac- 
cording to his works." It seems to be evident, from 
the foregoing considerations, that no such penalty of 
endless misery was ever connected with the divine law 
of heaven ; and equally evident, that Jesus did not come 
into the world to save sinners from any such penalty. 
No, nor did he come into the world to save the sinner 
from the punishment of his sins. 

We have now come to the positive of our question, 
and we will proceed to show from the scriptures, what 
" Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners " 
from. 

First, and primarily, he came to save sinners from 
2 



14 BALLOTj's LECTURES. 

their sins. If the hearer be disposed to ask what the 
difference is between saving a sinner from his sins, 
and saving him from the punishment which his sins 
deserve, the following reply will show. To save a 
criminal from the punishment which the law holds 
against him would be a violation of the law, but to 
save him from his sin, would render him righteous. 
To save a disobedient child from the chastisement due 
for his offence, would violate the wholesome law of 
the parent, and would have an unfavorable effect on 
the disobedient when reformation is the object of the 
chastisement. But to save the child from disobedi- 
ence is the very thing the parental law requires and 
is all the salvation which it needs. Thus, as has been 
before noticed, the Angel said to Joseph ; " Thou 
shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people 
from their sins." 

Secondly, we may notice some particulars, which, 
however, are all comprehended in saving the sinner from 
his sins. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sin- 
ners from a state of ignorance which they were actual- 
ly in, which ignorance was and ever is the cause of 
sin. 

Of the forerunner of Jesus it was said ; " And thou, 
child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest : for 
thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare 
his ways ; to give knowledge of salvation unto his 
people, by the remission of their sins, through the ten- 
der mercy of our God ; whereby the day-spring from 
on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit 
in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our 
feet into the way or peace." Jesus said to the Jews ; 
" If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples 
in deed ; and ye shall know the truth and the truth 
shall make you free ." In his prayer to the Father, 
Jesus says ; " This is life eternal, that they might 
know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
thou hast sent." It is most plainly seen by the light 
of these passages, that the Saviour's grace was design- 
ed to deliver sinners from mental darkness, and to 
give them the true knowledge of God's divine and 



EALLOU'S LECTURES 15 

gracious character. This is a salvation which the ig- 
norance of mankind rendered necessary. St. Paul, 
speaking on this subject to the Collossians says ; 
" Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear 
Son." The power of darkness is the deception to 
which ignorance subjects us, from which the true know- 
ledge of divine things delivers the mind. God says by 
the prophet Jeremiah ; " And they shall teach no more 
every man his neighbor, saying, know the Lord : for 
they shall all know me, from the least of them to the 
greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their 
iniquity, and I will remember the sin, no more ! " 
The words of St. Peter are pertinent to this subject : 
" Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the 
knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." And we 
may add, that the mission of the Apostles, to " preach 
the gospel to every creature and to teach all nations," 
implies the necessity of bringing all men to the know- 
ledge of the truth. 

The same salvation which has already been signified 
by a salvation from sin and from darkness or ignorance, 
may be denominated a deliverance from unreconcilia- 
tion to God. It is easily seen, that sin and unrecon- 
ciliation to God are the same. This is the state which 
the sinner is in, and from this condition the gospel is 
designed to deliver or save him. Accordingly St. 
Paul says ; " And all things are of God who hath rec- 
onciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given 
to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit ; that God 
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not 
imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath com- 
mitted unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, 
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did be- 
seech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be 
ye reconciled to God ! We see by this passage as well 
as by the general testimony of scripture, that God did 
not impute the trespasses of sinners to them, in any 
way to prevent the manifestation of his grace in their 
reconciliation to himself. This reconciliation of the 
world to God is the salvation of the world, and agrees 



16 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

with the testimony of the beloved disciple who said, 
"We have seen and do testify, that the Father sent 
the son to be the Saviour of the world." And to the 
same did " a bright and a shining light " bear record, 
saying; " Behold the Lamb of God "that taketh away 
tne sin of the world." 

This condition of sinners, from which Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save them, is represented to 
be death. Jesus says ; " The dead shall hear the voice 
of the son of God, and they that hear shall live." St. 
Paul says to the Ephesians ; " And you hath he quick- 
ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Again ; 
" But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in 
sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." Was 
there ever a representation more erroneous, than that 
which has for ages led men to believe that there was 
a divine wrath in God, from which Jesus came to save 
sinners? In the passage just recited it is declared, that 
on account of the great love which God had to sinners, 
who were dead in sin, he quickened them together 
with Christ. 

Our Redeemer represents the salvation of sinners 
by seeking and saving something lost, "The Son of 
man came to seek and to save that which was lost." 
Time would fail us to mention all the ways by which 
sacred truth has represented the nature of a sinner's 
salvation by Jesus Christ. 

The hearer is now called on to observe, that in all 
the representations quoted from scripture, there is no 
intimation of saving sinners from any punishment to 
which they were exposed, nor from any condition that 
they were not already in. 

Being in possession of what the foregoing arguments 
seem plainly to prove, the mind of the hearer will de- 
vote its attention now to the consideration of the ques- 
tion, why " Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners? " If the object of the Saviour's mission was 
to suffer the penalty of eternal punishment, which all 
our Doctors agree cannot be suffered in this world, 
why did he come here ? Why should he come into 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 17 

a world where this supposed penalty never was de- 
signed to be executed ? If Jesus undertook and did 
actually suffer the penalty of eternal damnation in a 
future world, in room and stead of sinners, surely there 
was no need of his coming into this mortal state to do 
it. But he " came into the world to save sinners." 
And the reason why he came into this world to save 
sinners, was because the sinners which he came to 
save were in this world. To make use of the parable 
of the Saviour, we may remark, that the physician goes 
to the place where the sick are, that he may adminis- 
ter what may relieve the patient from sickness. The 
goodly Samaritan went to the place where the bruised 
Jew lay naked and half dead, and there he poured into 
his wounds the mollifying oil and the life restoring 
wine. The shepherd went after the lost sheep until 
he found it, and from the place where it had wandered 
he bore it on his shoulder to the fold, rejoicing. 

The common doctrine, which teaches us, that Christ 
Jesus came into this world to save us in another 
world is contrary to all the representations which are 
found in the scriptures. If in a future world, men 
are sick, then in a future world men will need a phy- 
sician ; and if in a future world men are lost, then 
in a future world they will need to be sought and 
found; but if the inhabitant shall say I am not sick," 
no physician will be wanted. If sin shall exist in a fu- 
ture state cf existence, no doubt pardoning mercy will 
flow as freely there as it does here. God will be the 
same, Christ will be the same, and love divine will be 
the same. But none of our creeds teach us that man 
will sin in a future world, and surely if they do not 
they will not need to be saved from sin, for they will 
have none. 

We are not informed in the scriptures, that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to procure for man a state 
of life and immortality ; but we are informed, that he 
" hath brought life and immortality to light through the 
gospel. This divine inheritance was given us in 
Christ Jesus before the world began, but was " made 



19 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

manifest by the appearing of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death." 

The attentive hearer is in the next place invited to 
spend a few reflections on the fulness of Christ Jesus 
to accomplish the work of saving sinners. Remem- 
ber, " The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour o f 
the world." Permit your humble servant to ask you, 
if you had any important concerns in a foreign coun- 
try, which required the attention of one deeply skilled 
in such matters, would you not send one on whom 
you could depend ? And would you not furnish him 
with all the necessary powers, to settle your concerns 
in a just and equitable manner? You answer in the 
affirmative. 

Then it seems, that your christian candor must 
lead you to allow, that ample power is given to Christ 
Jesus to save the chief of sinners. If God himself, 
who is acknowledged to be omnipotent, had power 
sufficient for this gracious work, he surely would not 
send his Son with too little. " All power in heaven 
and in earth is therefore committed to the Son." 
" In him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily," 
Jesus " made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sancti- 
fication and redemption." Are sinners ignorant of 
God ? Jesus came with the true knowledge of the 
Father, whom to know is life eternal. Are sinners 
sick with spiritual leprosy ? Jesus is that physician 
whose very word can heal. Are sinners lost and be- 
wildered in the wilderness of sin ? Jesus is " the way, 
the truth and the life !" Are sinners dead in trespas- 
ses and sins, the life giving power of the gospel quick- 
ens them together with Christ. Here is a fountain 
opened for the cleansing of the unclean, here flow med- 
ical springs, teeming with health for all who are sick. 
Here grows the tree of life, whose fruit is for food, and 
whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. In a 
word, there is no infirmity in the sinner for which 
there is not a cure in Christ Jesus. 

To conclude ; My christian friends, is not our duty, 
as disciples of Jesus, made plain by the doctrine of 
our text ? " It is enough for the disciples to be as his 



19 

master." lne olessed Redeemer labored incessantly 
in the great work of saving sinners from their sins. 
He exercised his miraculous powers to convince men 
of the divinity of his mission, he taught the people the 
unchangeable love of God to sinners, he loved sinners 
himself, and his very breath seemed to be forgiveness. 
We are called on to exercise all our abilities in this 
blessed cause of salvation. That we may do this to 
the utmost, we must strive to increase in the know- 
ledge, and grow in the grace of divine truth, that we 
may be enabled to communicate it to others. Jesus 
said to his disciples ; " Let your light so shine before 
men, that they beholding your good works, may glo- 
rify your Father who is in heaven." If the vain im- 
agination were true, that the work of saving sinners 
was accomplished by Jesus' suffering some penalty of 
the divine law, of which we have no account in the or- 
acles of truth, of course further labor would not be 
needed. But if the salvation of sinners, consists in 
delivering them from their ignorance of God, from the 
power of darkness, from the death of sin, and from 
alienation to a blessed reconciliation to God, then all 
that we can do, by the help of Grace, to enligten our 
fellow men, to recommend the character of God to 
sinners, to magnify the beauties and excellences of a 
life of piety and virtue is of service in the cause of 
Christ. But let us remember, first of all, that example 
is more .than precept ; and that this " Grace of God, 
which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared ; 
teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, 
in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that | 
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and puriyfy 
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works." 



LECTURE II. 

THE DIVINE CHARACTER THE SOURCE OF ALL THE 
GRACE MANINESTED IN THE GOSPEL ; AND THE STAND- 
ARD FOR OUR IMITATION. 

MATTHEW v. 48. 

" Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is per- 
fect." 

Every scheme, whether human or divine, must, in 
order to be rationally planned, have some principle as 
its foundation. This foundation must, in all respects, 
be sufficiently extensive and firm to support the super- 
structure to be raised on it. 

The gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ, being a 
scheme planned by infinite wisdom, is established on a 
principle which is in all respects, both in regard to its 
extent and stability, amply sufficient to support the di- 
vinely glorious edifice designed to rest upon it. These 
remarks are evidently analogous to the subject of our 
text, and correspond with the manner in which it was 
presented to those who listened to the gracious words 
of the divine teacher. In his sermon on the mount, 
Jesus noticed many particulars, which had formerly 
been taught to the people and religiously believed by 
them, which were not consistent with the heavenly 
wisdom and grace of the gospel. He therefore, en- 
deavored to present to the people the distinction be- 
tween those traditions which had long been establish- 
ed, and that which was harmonious with that special 
" grace and truth," which came by him. 

The particular subject under consideration is intro- 
duced as follows : " Ye have heard that it hath been 
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, aud hate thine 
enemy ; But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless 
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, 
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and 
persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your 
Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to 



BALLOUS' LECTURES. 21 

rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
the just and unjust." What the doctrine of Jesus 
requires of his disciples is here plainly laid down ; 
and the reason why love and good offices to enemies 
were enjoined is shown in the manifest goodness of 
God to the evil and good, to the just and to the un- 
just. The divine teacher then proceeds to illustrate 
the propriety and fitness of his doctrine as follows ; 
" For if ye love them that love you, what reward have 
ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye 
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than oth- 
ers ? do not even the publicans so ? " 

Having thus evidently shown, that coming short 
of that love and goodness to enemies which his doc- 
trine requires, was to stand on the same ground and 
to act on the same principle which characterise the 
most illiberal and irreligious worlding, he enjoins as 
expressed in our text ; " Be ye, therefore, perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." — 
Our text, thus introduced, seems to invite the atten- 
tion of the hearer to the consideration of the following 
proposition, as a distinct subject for investigation ; 
(viz.) The gospel of Jesus Christ is a dispensation of 
grace which naturally and necessarily flows from the 
nature of God, and obtains its peculiar character from 
the love of God to sinners. 

What we mean when we say, the gospel of Jesus 
Christ flows naturally from God is, that all the causes 
which produce* it, or cause it to flow forth to man, 
are in the nature of the divine Being. He is self-move 
ed in all he does, and of course he is self-moved in 
the dispensation of his grace. Even the Mediator 
himself, who is stiled " the Captain of our salvation," 
had no occasion to influence the Father of our spirits 
to be merciful to sinners, for it is the unchangeable 
nature of God to be gracious. The divine being is 
wrongly represented, when it is said, as it often has 
been, that Christ has, by his life, death and resurrec- 
tion opened a way for God to be merciful to sinners • 
because this evidently supposes, that he was not mer- 
ciful to sinners before this door was opened. 



22 

The testimony of Jesus evidently corrects this er- 
ror, and abolishes at once all vain imaginations which 
have been built upon it. Hear his words ; " For God 
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever belie veth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life." It is surely a very great error 
to suppose that the gift which the Father's love oe- 
stowed influenced him to bestow it. Such a mistake 
we may presume, never was made on any other sub- 
ject or in any other case. Were the unhappy chil- 
dren of wealthy parents, whose prodigality had reduc- 
ed them to wretchedness and want, to receive from 
them a gift of immense value, would they be likely to 
conclude, that the worth of this invaluable treasure 
was the cause of their parent's love and pity ? No ; 
but however highly they might justly prize the favor 
sent, they would consider it as the evidence, not the 
cause of parental affection. This is evidently the 
sense of the Apostle who says ; " But God commend- 
eth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet 
sinners Christ died for us." Here notice, the death 
ofChrist was not the cause, but the commendation of 
the love of God toward us, while we were yet sinners. 
Again ; " Herein is love, not that we love God, but 
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitia- 
tion for our sins." This propitiation for our sins, so 
far from opening a door for God to be gracious, was 
an effect and a manifestation of the divine favor. 

These arguments are designed to illustrate the prop- 
osition, that the grace of the gospel flows naturally from 
God to his enemies. 

It is believed that no subject in divinity is of great- 
er moment than the one under consideration. For if 
it be not the nature of God to be gracious, and to 
love his creatures, and to do them good, even though 
they are enemies to him by wicked works ; but if he 
require vindictive retaliation on his enemies ; and can- 
not, consistently with his true character, show any 
favor to transgressors, without being first reconciled 
and influenced so to do, it is to that which produces 
this reconciliation and effects this influence, that we 



BALLOU'S LECTURES, 23 

are to look for mercy, and not to God. Moreover, 
this doctrine, could it be maintained, would overthrow 
the doctrine of our text. " Be ye, therefore, perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," 
by loving your enemies, by blessing them that curse 
you, by doing good to them that hate you, and by 
praying for them that despitefully use you and perse- 
cute you. If it be allowed, that our Father in heaven 
so imputed men's trespasses to them as to render it 
impossible for him to extend mercy to any until his 
vindictive wrath was appeased, then may we reply to 
the requirements of the Saviour in our text, and say ; 
First let us have satisfactory vengeance on our ene- 
mies, then we will love them and do them good. 
Suppose our Redeemer had taught the people, as our 
professed christians believe, that he had undertaken to 
appease his Father's wrath toward's man, by suffering 
the penal tortures which vindictive justice had laid 
on the sinner ; and that by this means he should pro- 
cure the favor of God for them, would he not thereby 
have furnished them with a reply to his injunctions 
expressed in our text and context ? Might they not 
have said, When we can obtain as ample vengeance 
on our enemies, as you have to suffer in order to 
render it proper for God to love his enemies, then we 
will love ours ? But no such doctrine can be found 
in the recorded testimony of Jesus. Whatever the 
blessed Redeemer is to us, he is made such by the 
Father of our spirits. Speaking to the Corinthians 
of Christ Jesus, the Apostle says ; " Who of God is 
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification , 
and redemption." To the same church, speaking of 
the ministry of reconciliation, the same author says ; 
" God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto him- 
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them." But 
the error which we disprove, supposes that God did im- 
pute our trespasses to us, and that Christ reconciled 
him. 

There is a passage the common use of which is 
against our present argument, which we will here no- 
tice. " We have an advocate with the Father.'' 



24 

The common opinion supposes Jesus Christ acts the 
part of an advocate, by pleading our cause before 
God, to incline him to show mercy. This is totally 
erroneous. The advocacy of Jesus is expressed thus : 
" Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's 
stead be ye reconciled to God." * Thus we have an 
advocate with the Father who pleads with us to be 
reconciled to God ; not with God to be reconciled to 
us, for " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself, not imputing unto them their trespasses." 

That the character which we attribute, by these ar- 
guments, to the divine Being, is really what is due to 
him, may be made to appear by referring to his pro- 
vidence. This we are specially authorised ,to do, by 
the example which the Saviour has furnished in our 
context, and which was evidently designed by him to 
inculcate what these arguments are designed to prove. 
He directed the attention of the people to two sensi- 
ble objects, which the divine providence continually 
holds out to our view ; the sun and the rain. " For 
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, 
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." 
By these ocular proofs the divine teacher inculcated 
the impartial love and goodness of our Father in 
heaven toward all men of every description of char- 
acter. 

It may be necessary to notice, in this place, what 
an objector might be disposed to urge against this im- 
partial goodness of the divine Being toward the evil 
and the good, the just and the unjust. 

Objection : If God be equally as good to the evil as he 
is to the good, to the unjust as to the just ; and if he love 
his enemies as well as he does his friends, then there 
is no difference between the reward of righteousness 
and unrighteousness. To this objection the candid 
hearer will accept the following reply. — Keeping in 
view the character of God, as set forth in the passage 
under consideration, as our Father in heaven, we say 
that a father may love his obedient and disobedient 
children impartially, and yet, in relation to their con- 



25 

duct, may treat them as differently as tney conduct 
one from another. But however different the treat- 
ment may be, it must, in every case, proceed from 
the same principle of impartial love in the parent. 

To illustrate this, we may observe that the parent 
who is visited with sickness among his children will nat- 
urally love those who are sick as well as he does those 
who are in health ; and yet, from this equal undimin- 
ished love, he will treat them as differently as will ex- 
actly correspond with their different degrees of health. 
— Now, you who are parents are called on to deter- 
mine whether it be right, and consistent with your char- 
acter as parents, to love your children and to do good 
to them when they are disobedient ? If you decide in 
he affirmative, as you most surely will, then you justify 
the argument, against which the objection we have 
noticed was stated. 

If the objector should be disposed to contend, that 
we extend our argument too far by endeavoring to 
prove that the sinner is equally the object of divine 
love as the righteous, we rejoin by referring the objector 
to the full extent of the evidence already adduced, and 
to the consideration of the following remarks. 

First ; If we carefully examine the conduct of the 
divine Being toward Adam before and after trans- 
gression, shall we find any thing to justify the belief, 
that Adam was not equally the object of divine favor 
after he sinned as he was before ? Whose voice did 
guilty Adam hear in the cool of the day, expressive of 
parental solicitude, crying Adam, Adam, where art 
thou ? It was the voice of the Lord God. In that 
memorable hour of retribution was there the least sign 
that God's love towards his offspring had suffered any 
diminution ? Does not the promise, that the seed of the 
woman shold bruise the serpent's head, bear date from 
this eventful period ? Surely this was a time of love. 

Secondly ; Was it when the world was righteous, or 
when it was " in wickedness" that God so loved it, as 
to give his only begotten Son, that whosoever belie v- 
eth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life ?" 
Was Saul less the object of the divine favor before his 
3 



26 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

conversion than afterward ? Were we less beloved by 
him, " who loved us and washed us from our sins in 
his own blood" before he washed us, than afterward ? 
The hearer will easily perceive that these queries all 
tend to show, that no change in man can effect any 
change in God. — And 

Thirdly ; The acknowledged unchangeability of the 
divine Being furnishes sufficient proof, that his love to 
his creatures can never increase nor decrease. Enter- 
taining a hope, that what has been offered, designed 
to explain our meaning respecting the dispensation of 
divine grace flowing naturally from God, may be ac- 
ceptable to the candid hearer, we will briefly state 
what we mean by saying, that this dispensation of 
grace flows necessarily from the nature of God ; and 
offer some argument in its support. 

What we mean by this part of our general proposi- 
tion is, that if we take a careful view of the nature of 
the djvine attributes, as they are revealed in creation, 
providence, and grace, even as short sighted as we 
are, we become convinced that all the ways of God, 
all his works, all his mercies, and all his judgments are 
unalterably established in truth and righteousness 
which never vary. It is not consistent with the attri- 
butes of God, to suppose, that he can design to do 
any thing, and afterward alter his determination. Nor 
is it any more consistent with the divine attributes to 
suppose that any of the designs of God, which in dif- 
ferent ages of the world have been revealed to man, 
were less ancient than the design of creation ; which 
carries us as far back as is of use to our researches. 
When the Almighty was pleased to reveal himself to 
Abraham, and call him from his people, and promise 
him, the land of Canaan, and to multiply him, and to 
bless him, and to bless all the families of the earth in 
his seed, however new and unexpected this might be 
to this " friend of God," it could be no new thing with 
the God of Abraham. And so we may say of any 
other particular manifestation of the wisdom of God. 
a Known unto God are all his works from the founda- 
tion of the world," and he declares " the end from the 



BALLOU'S LECTURES 27 

beginning." It is furthermore said, that he " cannot 
lie," and that " he cannot deny himself." 

Having presented the hearer, in our imperfect man- 
ner, with this short account of the foundation of the 
doctrine of Jesus, the attention of the audience may, 
for a few moments, be devoted to the consideration 
of the following inferences, drawn from premises al- 
ready proved. 

1. As we have seen, that the grace by which man 
obtains salvation and eternal life, flows naturally and 
necessarily from the nature of God, and is known by 
its peculiar characteristic of love to sinners, we infer 
that this salvation w'll eventually be as extensive as 
the love of God, from which it proceeds. If the love 
of the divine Being ensures salvation to any of the 
sinful race of Adam, it equally favors the salvation of 
all men, as all are equally the objects of divine love. 
This inference relies on the fact, that the same cause 
will always produce the same effects. A parent has 
a number of children, all needy and dependent on him, 
he loves them all equally, it is granted that this love 
will certainly favor and support some of these depend- 
ent offspring; the conclusion is, that it will grant the 
same favor and support to the whole. Should the speak- 
er, this evening, inform you, that there is a parent of 
great respectability in this town, who has a numerous 
family of sons and daughters, that he is vastly rich, 
has all at its command that heart can wish, that he 
most tenderly and affectionately loves his children, 
and loves them impartially, that this parent has favor- 
ed your servant with a knowledge of his domestic 
economy and government, that he often invites him to 
partake of his bountiful board, and of the refreshments 
which his generous favor constantly provides, would 
you not reply that all this is very probable, and that 
you know of many such families in the circle of your 
acquaintance ? But should the account proceed and 
state, that of this numerous family of children only a 
fourth part were ever indulged with the society of their 
parent, that the other three fourths were the most 
wretched beings ever seen, that they were as nearly 



23 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

starved the whole of the time as they could be and 
live, that they were excluded the society of the favor- 
ites, and that their extreme misery was for the honor 
and glory of the merciful parent, and to enhance the 
unalloyed happiness of the others, could you freely 
give your candid assent to the probability, the consist- 
ency and propriety of this account ? Would you not 
say, that if one part of the story be true, the other 
must be false ? You certainly would contend, that if 
the parent were impartial in his love to his children, 
he never would make the distinction reported; you 
would revolt with horror at the declaration, that the 
extreme misery of the greatest part of the family was 
necessary for the honor of the parent, and to enhance 
the felicity of the happy few. Such doctrine as this, 
you would say, is totally without foundation, is a su- 
perstructure having nothing for its support, and is 
proof positive that the mind of the reporter is derang- 
ed or corrupted. Why then will you contradict your 
own candid reasoning, and contend that our Father in 
heaven loves his offspring impartially, even his enemies, 
that his divine fullness is infinitely extensive, but that 
by some special grace which has been made known to 
you, you are authorised to believe and say, that but a 
small part of the human family will ever be made par- 
takers of the rich bounties of salvation in Christ, and 
that far the most numerous part of Adam's posterity 
are doomed to unspeakable tortures eternally for the 
glory of God and to promote the happiness of a few ? 
It is charitably believed that your candor will lead to 
an impartial decision of this momentous subject, and 
will incline you to admit what is so fully and clearly 
proved by the unerring testimony of truth. 

2. We infer from our general subject, that the com- 
mon doctrine which teaches that our Father who 
is in heaven, loves those who love him, but has 
treasured up everlasting vengeance against his ene- 
mies, is subversive of the gospel and religion of Jesus, 
which he preached on the glorious foundation of the 
divine love to sinners ; and equally subversive of our 
duty as disciples of Christ. The common doctrine, 



29 

against which this inference is drawn, seems to adhere 
to the old tradition, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
and hate thine enemy," against which our Saviour la- 
bored in the place where our text is found. " If ye 
love them that love you, what reward have ye ? do 
not even the publicans the same ? And if ye salute 
your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do 
not even the publicans so ?" Those who pay no at- 
tention to religion, whose thoughts are wholly en- 
grossed by the things of a temporal concern, who lay 
up their treasures upon the earth, love those who love 
them, do good to those who do good to them, and 
courteously salute their brethren. Now if God love 
none but such as love him, if he be kind to none but 
such as are friendly to him, what does he more than 
publicans ? What reward hath he ? Most surely Je- 
sus never would have inculcated the duty of loving 
our enemies on the principle that God hated his. 
But he seemed to come directly to the understanding 
of the people through the medium of the rising sun 
and falling rain, and presented them with the real 
character of our heavenly Father as a perfect pattern 
for our imitation. Suppose some of the disciples of 
Jesus, on this occasion, had asked him whether he 
meant to be understood, that our Father in heaven did 
really love the evil and the good, the just and the un- 
just, as impartially as he granted them the light of the 
sun and the rain from heaven ? What answer may 
we believe the divine teacher would have returned ? 
Would he have said, I solemly charge you not to be 
deceived by these temporal things ? You see that the 
sun makes no distinction in bestowing its influence on 
the nations of the earth, it bounds not its blessings by 
any distinctions in the characters of men, it is prodi- | 
gal of its innumerable blessings on the evil and on the ' 
good ; so is the rain, likewise as entirely impartial ; it 
sheds its generous favors on all without partiality ; 
but you are not to suppose that these are true indica- 
tions of the real mind and disposition of your heavenly 
Father. In temporal things God is " good unto all 
and his tender mercies are over all his works ;" but in 
3 * 



30 BALLOU 7 S LECTURES. 

respect to the spiritual and eternal concerns of men 
he has made an infinite difference. Those who love 
him and keep his commandments, he really loves ; 
but his enemies are the objects of his burning wrath, 
and on them will his vengeance be poured forth forev- 
er. In reply to such an answer, might not the ques- 
tions which Jesus asked be returned? If ye love 
them that love you what reward have ye ? do not 
even the publicans the same? But the divine teach- 
er would not have been so absurdly inconsistent with 
himself; he would have answered the supposed ques- 
tion in the affirmative. We have full liberty to be- 
lieve this and ample authority to support it. The 
contrary is the very thing that he was dissuading the 
people from ; but the affirmative of the supposed ques- 
tion is what he endeavored to impress on their minds. 
This inference will be found to be greatly strength- 
ened by a careful application of our text to the subject, 
" Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which 
is in heaven is perfect." We are here required to 
have the same quality of perfection as our Father in 
heaven has. If his perfection is qualified with hatred 
and unmerciful wrath towards his enemies, then our 
perfection must be qualified by the same temper and 
disposition towards our enemies. But if the perfec- 
tion of our heavenly Father is rendered gloriously 
bright by a constant display of unchangeable love and 
mercy towards his enemies, then it is plainly our duty 
to strive to the utmost to qualify our christian profes- 
sion and discipleship of Jesus, with this blessed temper 
and good will to those who are our enemies. Jesus 
said to his disciples, " The disciple is not above his 
master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough 
for the disciple to be as his master, and the servant as 
his Lord." Those, therefore, who profess to love all 
mankind, who pray for all men, who say they fer- 
vently desire the everlasting happiness of the whole hu- 
man race, and yet contend that their divine Lord and 
Master loves but a few, and has determined the ev- 
erlasting instruction of all the rest, are guilty of su- 
pererogation. So far from being contented to stop at 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 31 

the bounds by which they limit the holy one, they pro- 
fess to love those who are held by their creed to be 
the objects of the divine indignation. But here let us 

pause ; Are these pretensions all real ? Cast aside 

all prejudice, and examine and answer the following 
question : Have professors generally, who have main- 
tained limited views of the grace of God, and yet pre- 
tended to love all men themselves, accompanied those 
pretensions with that spirit and temper of love and 
compassion toward those who have differed from them 
in opinion, which seem necessary to prove the sin- 
cerity of their professions ? If this should be allowed, 
how can we account for all the persecutions which 
have characterised the christian churches for ages ? 
How shall we account for that mutual bitterness, cold- 
ness and deeply rooted prejudice visible among differ- 
ent denominations, and by which they have so much 
disturbed the peace of society and of the world ? 
There is nothing of importance ever maintained in the 
religious creeds of men, that does not either tend to 
make them better, or worse ; and that character which 
we attribute to the divine Being, will more or less min- 
gle itself in our own characters. Hence we account 
for the endeavors of the Saviour to present our Father 
in heaven, in a character which he would have his dis- 
ciples acquire for themselves. He knew if men en- 
tertain an opinion that the divine Being loves those 
who love him and hates those who hate him, they 
would be likely to imitate what they attribute to God. 
He very well knew that this was the case with the 
people of his day, he knew it had been the case in past 
ages, and he knew that like causes would produce like 
effects ; and therefore as long as men should religious- 
ly believe that God loves some and hates others, he 
knew that bitterness and strife would continue. From 
this thick cloud of darkness, from this deadly error the 
doctrine of divine love to the enemies of God, is the 
only deliverance. It makes not the least difference 
whether we profess to be Christians, Jews, Pagans or 
Mahometans, if we believe that God is an enemy to 
those who are enemies to him, we shall be likely to 



32 BALLOU S LECTURES. 

exercise the same spirit and disposition which we 
believe our Father in heaven possesses ; and we shall 
justify ourselves in so doing by the divine authority. 
Those who have and maintain this erroneous belief, 
are seldom if ever at a loss to know who the friends 
of God are, and who are his enemies. They are per- 
suaded that they have the true faith, that they are the 
friends of God, and of course God is their friend ; 
loves them, and will do good to them ; but those who 
subscribe not to the same particular creed, are ene- 
mies to God, are the objects of his wrath and of their 
most bitter enmity. Such people will effect great con- 
cern for those whom they esteem as the enemies of 
the true faith, and will frequently exhort them to make 
God their friend, to delay no time in bringing them- 
selves to those terms and to that condition which will 
secure the good will of our Father who is in heaven. 
But the only way that this can be done, is to become 
conformed to the particular creed and formalities of 
those who stile themselves the friends of God. Why 
did not our blessed Redeemer in the room of teaching 
men that their Father in heaven loves his enemies, and 
that they must love their enemies in order to be like 
him, exhort them, as we are frequently exhorted, to 
make our Father in heaven our friend ? Answer, be- 
cause such an exhortation implies that God is no bet- 
ter than the publicans, who love those that love them, 
and is calculated to maintain all the partiality in faith 
and practice from which Jesus came to save the 
world. 

To conclude ; Let us, my brethren, endeavor to seek 
to the foundation of our religion, learn the true charac- 
ter of our Father in heaven, and be cautious that we nev- 
er consent to any belief, which in any way involves the 
notion that God ever was or ever can be an enemy to 
any of the works of his hands. And on the immove- 
able rock of God's impartial love to all men, let our 
faith and our hope rest ; but not forgetting that the 
benefits of this heavenly doctrine of love divine can 
never be realised until it works in us a conformity to 
its requirements, and brings us into that heavenly tem- 



33 

per and spirit by which we shall love our enemies, do 
good to them that hate us, and pray in faith, nothing 
doubting, for those who despitefully use us and per- 
secute us. Let us open our eyes to the visible signs 
of the love and goodness of God, and read the instruc- 
tive lectures, which are delivered by a beneficent prov- 
idence every day and every hour, and by them learn 
that wisdom which is from above, which " is first pure, 
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full 
of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and with- 
out hypocrisy." 



LECTURE III. 

THE LAW CONSISTENT WITH THE PROMISES. 

GALATIANS, iii. 21. 
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid." 

Br the manner of the Apostle's writing m this epis- 
tle, it appears evident that christians, even as ear- 
ly as the time of the Apostles, were strongly inclined 
to the opinion, that the works of the law were neces- 
sary to give validity and efficacy to the gospel of Je- 
sus Christ. To this agrees the account we have in the 
15th of Acts, where we are informed that " certain 
men, which came down from Judea" to Antioch, 
" taught the brethren and said, except ye be circum- 
cised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." 
From such sentiments it appears the Apostle labored 
with great earnestness to dissuade his brethren. The 
chapter from which our text is chosen begins as fol- 
lows ; " O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, 
that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes 
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified 
among you ? This only would I learn ot you ; re- 
ceived ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by 
the hearing of faith ? Are ye so foolish ? having be- 
gun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the 
flesh ?" A little attention to this subject will discover 
that by law and flesh the author means the same 
thing. He endeavored to explain to his christian 
brethren the design and utility of the law, and to show 
that it had neither power to give the life of faith, or 
to render the promises of the gospel covenant with- 
out effect. He stated the important question on which 



35 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 



his whole argument rested, and answered it in our 
text ; " Is the law then against the promises of God ? 
God forbid." Whatever is contained in the promi- 
ses of God, be it ever so much or ever so good, it is 
not in the least subject to be rendered null or even 
diminished in the least degree by the law ; and on the 
other hand the promises of God do in no wise frus- 
trate the law, but the doctrine of the divine promises 
does in fact establish the law. To this effect are the 
words of the Apostles to the Romans ; " Do we then 
make void the law through faith ? God forbid ! yea, 
we establish the law." Moreover Jesus himself said; 
" Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or 
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to 
fulfil." 

Our first inquiry may be directed to ascertain what 
is contained in the promises of God. This subject is 
of the utmost importance, and if duly considered can- 
not fail to engage the attention of hearer, and draw 
the mind of each individual present to an entire de- 
votion to the inquiry proposed. The audience will 
not feel, on this subject, an idle indifference scarcely to 
be avoided while listening to declamations, authorised 
only by human imaginations. Nor can any part of the 
congregation feel a less interest in the subject than the 
rest, for the promises about to be examined are expres- 
sive of the will of our Father in heaven of whose divine 
bounty we are all equal heirs. 

It is natural for children to listen with attention and 
solicitude to the reading of the will of an earthly pa- 
rent, even where there is but little left for the heirs, 
for they greatly desire to know if the same good will 
and impartial favor be discoverable in the last expres- 
sions and latest testimony of parental love, as had evi- 
dently marked the parent's conduct through life. But 
where a vast fortune is left in legacies, self interest, 
that ruling passion of the soul, renders attention ac- 
tive, and every one is wide awake ; and anxious to 
know the contents of this final testament. How much 
more then shall we be desirous to acquaint ourselves 
with the promises of our heavenly Father which ex- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 3b* 

press what he hath laid up for us in the covenant of 
his grace ? With what impressions of mind ought we 
to commence this research ? Is it proper that we be- 
gin this examination with prepossessions of mind most 
favorable to limited and ungenerous principles, or 
such as better correspond with the divine goodness 
continually manifested in a boundless, rich, and mu- 
nificent providence ? If simple nature alone had 
been our instructor, if we had not been educated in a 
belief which limits the holy One, if we were left to 
judge of the goodness of the divine Being, respecting 
the moral and spiritual interests of his creatures from 
his impartial goodness in his temporal providence, have 
we the least reason to believe that we should be in pos- 
session of notions opposed to the universality of di- 
vine mercy ? But unhappily for us, we have early im- 
bibed illiberal views of God and his goodness, and un- 
der this embarrassment we stand opposed to rational 
views of universal goodness; hence in treating the 
subject proposed, arguments are needed which may 
tend to do away our prejudices, and to establish in our 
minds a doctrine which will be seen to harmonize with 
the wonderful works and universal goodness of God. 

The promises of God of which the Apostle spake in 
the text are those made to Abraham, which we may 
learn from the following in the context ; " Now to 
Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He 
saith not and to seeds, as of many ; but as of one, and 
to thy seed, which is Christ." These promises made 
to Abraham in Christ, the apostle calls a covenant, a 
he expresses in his next words ; " And this I say, that 
the covenant that was confirmed before of God in 
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty 
years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the 
promise of none effect. For if the inheritance of the 
the law, it is no more of promise ; but God gave it to 
Abraham by promise." By this scripture we learn 
that the promises made to Abraham are called a cove- 
nant which was confirmed in Christ ; and that which 
the promises contain, is called an inheritance. 

The promises to Abraham are recorded, Genesis xii 



37 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

2, 3, " I will make of thee a great nation, and I will 
bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou shalt 
be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, 
and curse them that curseth thee ; and in thee shall all 
families of the earth be blessed." xviii. 18. " Abraham 
shall surety become a great and mighty nation, and all 
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." xxii. 
18. " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
be blessed." The confirmation of these promises to 
Isaac is recorded, Genesis xxvi. 3, 4. " Sojourn in this 
land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee ; 
for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these 
countries ; and I will perform the oath which I sware 
unto Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed 
to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give un- 
to thy seed all these countries ; and in thy seed shall 
all .the nations of the earth be blessed." The confir- 
mation of the same promises to Jacob we read in Chap- 
ter xxviii. 14. " And thy seed shall be as the dust of 
the earth ; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, 
and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : 
and in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families of 
the earth be blessed." 

These are the promises of God, of which mention 
is made in our text, and which our text says, the law 
is not against. It may be well now to inquire some- 
thing respecting the extensiveness of these promises. 
What is the most natural sense of such language as 
this ? " All the nations of the earth, all the families 
of the earth ; " and such as St. Peter used, Acts iii. 
25, " Ye are the children of the prophets and of the 
covenant which God made with our fathers, saying 
unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds 
of the earth be blessed." Would any person, having the 
least knowledge of language, make use of such to ex- 
press something concerning a very small part of man- 
kind ? The learned and pious divines who composed 
the Westminster Catechism did not make use of such 
language to express the covenant of grace in which 
they believed. Their words are the following ; " Goo 
having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eterni 
4 



38 

ty, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a 
covenant of grace, to deliver them out of a state of 
sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of salva- 
tion, by a Redeemer." Will any candid person say, 
that this language which the Westminster divines made 
use of to express their covenant of grace and the lan- 
guage which God used to express his covenant of 
grace to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are of th e same 
import ? No one will pretend this. If it had been the 
intention of those divines to state the covenant of which 
St. Peter spoke in Acts iii. would they not have been 
likely to make use of such language as he used, and 
as is used in other parts of the scriptures on the same 
subject ? There can be no doubt of this. But the 
fact is, their covenant of grace is not mentioned in 
the whole of the divine oracles. It is a most hu- 
miliating thought, that the wisdom of God should 
have been thus totally neglected, and the wisdom, 
the partial, sensual wisdom of this world set in its 
stead. It is a matter of most painful reflection, that 
while the christian church have made no provision to 
teach youth the gospel covenant of the God of Abra- 
ham, of Isaac and Jacob, unwearied pains and innu- 
merable means have been employed to instruct them, 
" and that right early," in this covenant of men's in- 
vention. But, by attending too much to the vain no- 
tions of men, we shall get away from our subject. 
We will therefore observe, that the language in which 
the covenant which God made with the fathers is ex- 
pressed, is as extensive as any language that could 
have been used, unless more than the whole human 
family were to be comprehended : All nations of the 
earth, all the families of the earth, and all the kindreds 
of the earth, is universal ; and all the partial creeds of 
men acknowledge it to be so by carefully and respect- 
fully neglecting to use it. 

Our next inquiry will seek to ascertain the blessing 
which is promised to all the nations of the earth in the 
covenant of God. 

This question is settled by the testimony of the 
Apostle in our context ; " And the scriptures forese- 



BALLOU's LECTURES 39 

seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, 
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in 
thee shall all nations be blessed." This blessing then 
is justification through faith. Of this justification the 
Apostle speaks to the Romans in language as extensive 
as that in which the covenant of grace was expressed 
to Abraham. His words are as follows ; " For all have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God ; being 
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus." Again to the Romans, the 
Apostle speaking of Christ, says ; " Who was delivered 
for our offences, and was raised again for our justifica- 
tion." The same author in a discourse at Antioch 
said ; " And we declare unto you glad tidings, how 
that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 
God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in 
that he hath raised up Jesus again." The hearer is 
requested to notice, that according to the passages 
quoted, the promise to Abraham is called the gospel. 
This gospel was preached by God himself, and no 
doubt was preached truly, and as Abraham believed, 
and as we ought to believe at this day. We also see 
that the thing promised,- which the Apostle calls " the 
inheritance," is justification through faith, the word 
faith meaning covenant ; and moreover, that all that have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God, are thus 
"justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that is in Christ Jesus." Should the trite objection, 
that this doctrine justifies men in sin, be moved in this 
case, we reply in the words of divine truth, which 
never speaks of justifying men in sin, but "from, all 
things, from which we could not be justified by the 
law of Moses." St. Peter applies the blessing which 
God promised, in his covenant, to Abraham, as fol- 
lows ; " Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son 
Jesus, sent him to bless you, . in turning away every 
one of you from his iniquities." One important ob- 
ject which we have in view, is to show the nature of 
the gospel salvation, which is salvation from sin and 
all its evils. 

The hearer is now requested to consider the terms 



40 BALLOU'S LECTURES 

or conditions of the promises, the covenant made with 
the fathers, which embraces the salvation of all the na- 
tions, all the families, and all the kindreds of the earth 
in Jesus Christ. If these promises were made on any 
conditions of obedience on the part of the heirs of this 
inheritance, then unless these conditions are fulfilled 
we have no right to the promises? But blessed, forev- 
er blessed be the name of the God of Abraham, this 
covenant rests on no conditions of man's obedience. 
There is not a word in the promises made to the fath- 
ers, that intimates any condition on the part of 
those who were to be blessed. Our heavenly Fath- 
er here manifests his own unchangeable, uninfluenced, 
unconditional good will and gracious purpose con- 
cerning all the sons and daughters of Adam. " God, 
willing more abundantly, to show unto the heirs of 
promise, the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it 
toy an oath ; for when God made promise to Abraham, 
Oecause he could swear by no greater, he swear by 
himself." And the design of this oath was, ' that we 
might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge 
to lay hold on the hope set before us." 

Corresponding with the unconditionally of the 
" covenant of promise," we may notice a passage or 
two from the prophet Isaiah and St. Paul. The evan- 
gelical prophet uses language in his 26th Chapter 
which corresponds in three important points with the 
language of the divine promises. 1st. It is universal 
2d. — It contains the testimony of life ; and 3d. The 
language is positive, not conditional. The passage 
reads as follows ; " And in this mountain shall the Lord 
of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, of 
wines on the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of 
wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy 
in this mountain the face of the covering cast over 
all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 
He will swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord 
God will wipe away tears from all faces ; and the re- 
buke of his people shall he take away from off all the 
earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it." In his 9th 
Chapter, speaking of the Messiah, he says, " For unto 



41 

us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the 
government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name 
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty 
God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace. Of 
the increase of his goverment and peace there shall be 
no end." No comments are necessary to show, that 
the language quoted from the prophet corresponds 
with that in which the " covenant of promise" is re- 
corded. 

That the salvation of the gospel is not according to 
the works of men, St. Paul's testimony to Timothy 
fully shows ; " Who hath saved us, and called us with 
an holy calling, not according to our works, but ac- 
cording to his own purpose and grace, which was giv- 
en us in Christ Jesus before the world began ; but is 
now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour 
Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath 
brought life and immortality to light through the gos- 
pel." To Titus he says; "Not by works of right- 
eousness which we have done, but according to his 
mercy he saved us." On the same subject, to the 
Ephesians he says ; " Not of works, lest any man 
should boast." The passage just quoted from the 
the epistle to Timothy is remarkable for its clearness 
on our subject : " Who hath saved us, and called us 
with an holy calling, not according to our works." It 
this salvation and calling were not according to the 
works, of those who were saved, then it must be ac- 
cording to something else. And this something must 
form a principle on which God could act with perfect 
consistency, with holiness, justice and truth. The 
Apostle says ; " But according to his own purpose and 
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the 
world began, to save men, not according to their f 
works. To this argument the objector will reply, that 
it is evident according to scripture and according to 
reason and the fitness of things, that men should be 
dealt with according to their merit and demerit. The 
objector will contend, that this is according to the 
law given to Israel by Moses, and is likewise accord- 
ing to the law given to the Gentiles ; written in their 
4* 



42 BALLOU'S LECTURES 

heart. To all this we give our full and cordial con- 
sent, and proceed to show that this is no real objection 
against the salvation for which we have contended, 
by illustrating the fact stated in our text, that the law 
is not against the promises of God. 

This the Apostle has done in our context, in a very 
able and concise manner. His argument is the fol- 
lowing, which has been already quoted on another 
subject ; " And this I say, that the covenant that was 
confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which 
was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot dis- 
annul, that it should make the promise of none ef- 
fect." 

Never was there an argument more clear and con- 
clusive. In order that the law have might any power 
to control the covenant of promise it should have exist- 
ed prior to, or at least simultaneous with it ; and then 
there must have been conditions in the covenant of 
promise of which the law should have power to take 
cognizance. If the objector further contend, that the 
moral nature of the law did exist at the time and even 
before the promise was made to Abraham, we grant 
the fact, and say : if it were consistent with the moral 
nature of the law, for God to make such promises, it 
certainly cannot be contrary to it, for him to fulfil 
them. It was the same God who gave the law to 
man, that made the promises to the lather of the faith- 
ful : and nothing can be more unreasonable than to 
suppose, that he either made a law against his own 
promises, or promises against his own law. 

The true design of the law, in relation to the gospel 
which was preached unto Abraham, is represented by 
a well chosen metaphor in the chapter where our text 
is found, " Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster 
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by 
faith." As the appointment of a schoolmaster is cer- 
tainly for the benefit of the pupils ; to instruct and 
discipline them for advancement in duties and in en- 
joyments, so the law was designed to instruct and 
discipline mankind for the sublime duties and enjoy- 
ments of the religion of Jesus Christ. While his 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 43 

thildren are at school, or even before they are of age 
to profit by such an institution, the kind affectionate 
father may will to his children independent fortunes. 
These minors may, notwithstanding they are heirs to 
this testament of their fathers's, be kept at school, 
be instructed and disciplined by a faithful master 
until the time appointed of the father for them to come 
into possession of their inheritance, and to be free from 
the government: of the school. In this simile it is easy 
to see, that the children were dealt with according 
to their merit and demerit ; the schoolmaster could do 
his whole duty to his pupils without concerning himself 
about their father's will. His authority did not extend 
to take cognizance of that instrument of grace, nor did 
that testament which made these children vastly rich 
infringe in the least on the authority of the school- 
master. There is no power in the will to screen the 
disobedient scholar from the faithful hand of righteous 
discipline. These two dispensations harmonise in do- 
ing good to the same persons, in their respective ways. 
In relation to our subject, the Apostle says in connex- 
ion with our text ; " Now I say, that the heir, as long 
as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant 
though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors and 
governors, until the time appointed of the Father. 
Even so we, when we were children, were in bond- 
age under the elements of the world." 

But the objector urges that it is written ; " cursed 
is every one that continueth not in all things written 
in the book of the law to do them ; " and " the soul 
that sinneth, it shall die." Let this all be granted; 
and let it stand without attempting to weaken it in the 
least ; but let us remember with gratitude and joy of 
heart, that " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse 
of the law, being made a curse for us." And also, 
that those who were dead in trespasses and in sins, 
hath God quickened together with Christ. It is true, 
' the wages of sin is death ; " but it is also true that 
' the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord." 

Will the objector now say, that the curse of the law 



44 

is eternal death, and therefore if this curse came upon 
any, they cannot obtain salvation? Then we reply 
and say ; this objection does not rest on the divine 
testimony. The words " eternal death," are not in 
the scriptures. The objector, therefore, has no right 
to require any further reply. The text says ; cursed 
is every one," &c. It does not say ; cursed shall be 
every one in the eternal world, who continueth not in 
all things written in the book of the law to do them, 
in this world. 

To the Corinthians the Apostle speaks of the minis- 
tration of the law as a ministration of death, but he by 
no means allows it either an eternal duration, or power 
to prevent in the least degree, the ministration of life. 
He speaks as follows ; " Who also hath made us able 
ministers of the new-testament, not of the letter, but of 
the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth 
life. But if the ministration of death, written and en- 
graven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of 
Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, 
for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to 
be done away ; how shall not the ministration of the 
spirit be rather glorious ? For if the ministration of 
condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministra- 
tion of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that 
which was made glorious, had no glory in this respect, 
by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that 
which was done away was glorious, much more 
that which remaineth is glorious." 

We see, by the Apostle's reasoning, that the law 
dispensation, being a ministration of death, " was to 
be done away," and succeeded with the ministration 
of righteousness ; but that these dispensations are op- 
posed to each other is not allowed by any scripture 
argument. 

This doctrine, that the law is not against the pro- 
mises of God, which we find abundantly proved from 
the scriptures which have been noticed, is a doctrine 
which is plainly taught in the economy of divine provi- 
dence and in the most essential goveremeut embraced 
in human concerns ; I mean the government and econ- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 45 

omy of a family. In the divine providence, God has 
promised (and he fulfils his word) that there shall be 
summer and winter, seed time and harvest. These 
blessings do not depend on men, men depend on them ; 
man's labor does not call them forth, but they call men 
to their work ; and accordingly as they labor and wise- 
ly improve their advantages, they are rewarded. If 
they neglect the duties of the season, they are recom- 
pensed with want. In a family government and econ- 
omy, there are many favors bestowed on children, that 
in the nature of things, cannot depend on the obedi- 
ence of those who receive them. How many favors 
does parental love bestow on infancy, favors essential to 
life, long before the subjects are capable of knowing on 
whom they depend for support ? And in the last will 
and testament of parental provision, how many valua- 
ble legacies are bestowed on children, to which they 
had no other claim but heirship ? But all these bles- 
sings which are entirely independent of the conduct of 
children, have no power to prevent the reasonable ex- 
ercise of a proper discipline during that period in which 
the offspring are objects of such an economy. And on 
the other hand, it is as plainly seen, that this discipline 
has no power to oppose the interest which the child 
holds by heirship ; but then one seems to establish the 
other ; for that relation which gives the right to ad- 
minster discipline, holds also the right of heirship. 

From the several points of doctrine, which we have 
endeavored to support, the following inferences may 
be drawn. 

1st. There is, according to the scriptures, in the 
moral government, of our heavenly Father, a wisely 
concerted discipline, by which the faults of men are 
duly noticed and faithfully and compassionately chas- 
tised. But it is not consistent with the design of this 
dispensation to extend correction or punishment for 
sin, so as, in any way, to deprive, even the sinner, of 
the everlasting inheritance which belongs to the sons 
of God. 

The opinion, therefore, that the law of God demands 
the everlasting, or eternal punishment of sinners is, by 



46 BALLOUs' LECTURES. 

no means a scripture doctrine ; for surely such a doc- 
trine would prove that the law was against the promi- 
ses. Such a law, in the room of being a schoolmaster 
to bring us to Christ, would be an unmerciful tyrant, 
like Pharoah, who held the people of God in bondage, 
and refused to let them go. This divine law and dis- 
cipline of our heavenly Father admonishes us to take 
heed to our ways- Hereby we are advised, command- 
ed, admonished, rebuked, warned, threatened ; and in 
case of obstinate disobedience, and continuance in sin, 
we are severely punished. But let us always remem- 
ber that the chastisements of our heavenly Father 
are for our profit, that we may be partakers of his ho- 
liness. 

2d. We may infer from the doctrine we have main- 
tained, that the sense of what St. Peter said to the 
Jews is equally true respecting all'men ; " Ye are the 
children of the prophets, and of the covenant which 
God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham, and 
in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be bless- 
ed.'' Those to whom St. Peter spake these words, 
were those who delivered up Jesus and denied him in 
the presence of Pilate ; they were those who denied 
the holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to 
be granted unto them, and killed the Prince of life. 
" These," Peter said, "were the children of the pro- 
phets, and of the covenant which God made with our 
fathers." Now as the promise of the covenant was to 
" all the kindreds of the earth, and as the testimony of 
the prophets was equally extensive, we conclude that 
all the families, all the nations, and all the kindreds of 
the earth" are the children of the prophetic testimony, 
and of the covenant of promise. The blessing prom- 
ised was also mentioned by this Apostle as has been 
noticed ; " Unto you first, God, having raised up his 
Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away ev- 
ery one of you, from his iniquities. 

Let us conclude with the Apostle's exhortations 
" Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ 
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with 
the yoke of bondage." 



LECTURE IV 



LOVE THE CENTRE OF ALL THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES 
1 JOHN iv. 16. 

God is love. 

In the infinite variety of all important subjeets to 
which the rich treasures of divine revelation call our 
most serious and engaged attention, this, expressed in 
our text, is unquestionably entitled to the highest rank. 
However the thoughtless and profane may treat the 
Supreme disposer of all things, however trifling the 
name of the Most High may be handed round by pol- 
luted lips, one moment's serious attention to the im- 
propriety of such communication is sufficient to con- 
vince the reasonable mind, that Goo is a subject in- 
finitely too great to be introduced into trifling conver- 
sation, and infinitely too good to be mentioned by pro- 
fane lips. But notwithstanding the impropriety and 
evil, of which mention has been made, are great and 
heineous, they bear but a scant comparison with the 
impropriety and evil of representing the great Father 
of our spirits as a character which would be dishon- 
orable to man, who is but a worm of the dust. 

If we lay aside the prejudices which the creeds of 
men have carefully treasured up in our deceitful hearts, 
we shall at once be struck with horror at the charac- 
ter which a false education has given to the best of all 
intelligent beings. The moral evil naturally growing 
from false notions of the divine character, has so estab- 
lished its empire in the hearts of men, and exercises 
such unresisted control over the temper and spirit of 
those who are deceived by such notions, that there ap- 
pears but one remedy ; and this one must be found in 



48 

the removing of those errors, by the clear shining of 
divine truth in the understanding. The particular 
and most special object of the present discourse is to 
contribute, at least, a humble attempt to remove 
wrong views of God from the mind, by showing that 
all the divine attributes harmonize in love ; which view 
of the character of oifr heavenly Father, seems evident- 
ly comprehended in the text of which choice has been 
made. 

There are but a few passages of scripture which 
speak in a direct manner of what God is. He is call- 
ed a "fountain of living waters" by the Prophet 
Jeremiah. "My people have committed two evils: 
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living wa- 
ters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, 
that can hold no water." This is a most striking re- 
presentation of true and false religion. Love is a 
fountain of living waters. It is a living fountain, one 
that is never dry. This is true religion ; it has no ha- 
tred in it ; it works no ill to its neighbor ; it measures 
to others what it is willing to receive. But false re- 
ligion is any thing and every thing but love. Jt is 
something hewed out ; that is, it is the work of inven- 
tion and art. The living water of divine love is not 
in it. It pretends to love, but hatred is its most es- 
sential ingredient. It is based on enmity. If we dis- 
allow enmity, false religion cries out, heresy, the foun- 
dation of religion is gone ! — St. Paul says ; " Our God 
is a consuming fire." Love is a consuming fire to all 
the hay, wood, and stubble which error has introduc- 
ed into religion. " Now, if any man build upon this 
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, 
stubble ; every man's work shall be made manifest : 
for the day shall declare it, and the fire shall try every 
man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work 
abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive 
a reward. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall 
suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved : Yet so'as 
by fire." The fire of divine love seeks to consume 
nothing but that which is injurious to the sinner, who 
is the object of divine love. 



49 

The divine teacher said to the woman of Samaria ; 
u God is a spirit, and seeketh such to worship him, 
who worship him in spirit and in truth" Love is 
this spirit of God, and love is the spirit in which God is 
truly worshipped. " God is love ; and he that dwell- 
eth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 

It may tend to promote the object in view to men- 
tion a summary of moral attributes, and proceed to no- 
tice them both distinctly and conjunctively, by which 
their harmony in divine love may be made to appear. 
We read in Revelations, of the " Seven spirits of 
God," which we may suppose comprehend the per- 
fection of the communicable attributes of the divine 
Being. Without any design to be arbitrary, we will 
name seven moral attributes ; and though some may 
think a less number would comprehend the whole, 
and others, that a much greater number should be 
mentioned, it seems safe to calculate that the perfect 
number, seven, was designed to comprehend the whole 
and nothing more. — And if we may be favored with a 
view of the harmony of the seven which we shall name, 
no doubt the candid mind will be satisfied, that if more 
moral attributes could be named, they would all be 
found to harmonize in love. 

The seven we shall name are the following : Wis- 
dom, Knowledge, Power, Justice, Truth, Mercy, — and 
Love in which they all harmonize. 

Wisdom is that attribute of mind by which designs 
are drawn and plans are laid. It regards things, cir- 
cumstances, causes and effects as they relate to each 
other. The wisdom of any plan is seen in the co- 
operation of its several parts tending efficiently to pro- 
duce what the projector designs. Should any part of 
a plan fail of eventuating in the object designed, that 
failure, were it ever so small, would prove a lack of 
wisdom in drawing the plan. 

When we view the visible objects of creation, their 
existence seems to fill the mind with admiration, and 
as soon as our thoughts advance to the consideration 
of the regular motions of the heavenly bodies, wisdom 
irresistibly attracts our notice, and seems to waken up 
5 



50 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

a spark of devotion to the great Author of the uni- 
verse. Continuing to meditate on the order, regularity, 
and harmony of the works of nature and providence ; 
and to notice the concatenation of causes and effects 
which produce whatever is fit and good in the order 
and nature of things, no language seems more proper 
than that of the Psalmist; " O Lord, how manfold are 
thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all." 

Knowledge is a principle of intellectual nature by 
which the simple facts relating to things are compre- 
hended or understood. This attribute in God is an 
all-seeing eye ; from its pervading sight nothing can 
be hid. Known unto God are all his works from the 
foundation of the world. 

Power in the divine Being is that ability by which 
all the purposes of his vast and infinite scheme are car- 
ried into execution.' " Who worketh all things after 
,the counsel of his own will." 

Justice is that attribute of God, by which a right- 
eous and equitable administration is directed towards 
all moral accountable beings ; and by which every 
such being receives a just recompence of reward ac- 
cordingly as moral powers are exercised. Divine justice 
likewise requires that all moral beings should act in such 
a manner as to discharge every duty and obligation 
which the connexions and relations in which they are 
placed render necessary. " Justice and judgment are 
the habitations of his throne." 

Truth is whatever is opposed to falsehood, and is the 
reality of all things, circumstances and events, past, 
present and future. This is forever with him who 
varies not, for " He is the Rock, his work is perfect ; 
for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and 
without iniquity, just and right is he." 

Mercy is that divine perfection of God which pities 
and relieves from sin and wretchedness, those who 
stand in need of such compassion, " For the Lord is 
good ; his mercy is everlasting ; and his truth endur- 
eth to all generations." " According to his mercy he 
saved us." 

Love is a property which delights in an object, care- 



fully avoids doing it any harm, and uses all its means 
to administer good ; "God is love." — Now, as it is the 
fixed, unalterable nature of love to do good to all the 
beings who are its objects, and to render them as bless- 
ed as possible with the use of all the means which love 
can command, it is seen at once, that whatever plans 
are laid so as to promote the best interest of those 
creatures who are the objects of the divine love, is in 
fact the wisdom of God ; and as those plans perfectly 
harmonize with the benevolent purposes of love, it is 
evident that the wisdom which contrived them is in 
perfect unison with love, 

We here find a fair opportunity to look into the ex- 
tent of the goodness of God, and that salvation which 
is brought to mail by Jesus Christ, who is said to be 
" The wisdom of God and the power of God." " For 
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot- 
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not 
his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but 
that the world through him might be saved." God so 
loved the world that he sent his own wisdom that the 
world might be saved by it. If the wisdom of God is 
not in perfect harmony with his love, he surely would 
not have sent his wisdom to carry into effect the pur- 
poses of love. " Herein is love, not that we loved 
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the 
propitiation for our sins." Here both the object and 
the means are clearly set forth. God loved us while 
we did not love him. In consequence of this love he 
designed to do us a favor. The means which he used 
was to send his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 
But if by becoming the propitiation for our sins, no 
benefit, but an injury should result to those whom 
God loved then the means would frustrate the object 
and prove the want of wisdom in the plan. 

There is a doctrine in the christian church, that 
contends, that millions, yea far the greatest part of the 
human family will be infinitely more miserable in the 
eternal world, than they would have been if Jesus had 
never come into the world and died for their sins. If 



52 EALLOU'S LECTURES. 

this doctrine be allowed to stand in harmony with the 
wisdom of God, it must be granted that his wis- 
dom is hostile to his love, for " love worketh no 
ill." But the divine testimony assures us, that " God 
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world through him might be saved." If 
therefore, the world or any part of the world should 
fail of salvation, and be made miserable in the future 
world in consequence of what Christ has done, the 
thing for which he was sent not being fulfilled, and 
that for which he was not sent being effected, proves 
the want of wisdom in the plan. 

How is it possible for God to exercise a wisdom 
which is infinite in a way to frustrate the design of 
his own immutable love ? If we examine ever so 
minutely into the plans and schemes, the causes and 
effects, the immense, the subtle and the various work- 
ings of divine providence, are we not the more con- 
vinced of the truth of that ancient declaration, "The 
Lord is good unto all and his tender mercies are over 
all his works 1" As a proof of the truth of this testi- 
mony the Prophet further observes; "Thou openest 
thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living 
thing." This is the way by which God makes him- 
self known to be good to his creatures, that is, by act- 
ually doing them good. St. Paul said, " Nevertheless 
he left not himself without witness, in that he did 
good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful sea- 
sons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." How 
immense are the love, the goodness of God which are 
manifested continually in the temporal bounties of his 
universal providence. Cast your eyes round on every 
side, carefully inspect the condition of every living 
thing, and say whether the wisdom of God does not 
harmonize with universal love. And yet the Apostle 
allows all this luminous evidence to be no more than 
twilight compared with the more perfect display of the 
divine goodness in the dispensation of the gospel of 
Jesus Christ ; for notwithstanding the evidence of di- 
vine goodness which were continually manifested in 
the munificient providence of God, the people, who 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 



53 



were the subjects of such goodness, were ignorant of 
him and walked in their own way ; concerning which 
the Apostle says ; " The times of this ignorance God 
winked at, but now commandeth all men every where 
to repent." This special command to repent and turn 
from dumb idols to serve the living God, was given 
forth in the more glorious evidences of the mercy and 
goodness of God communicated in the gospel. 

An attempt to illustrate the wisdom which charac- 
terises the scheme of the gospel, and the harmony of 
its several parts, as set forth in the scriptures, would 
be a much more extensive undertaking than our pres- 
ent limits would justify, if there were no want of abili- 
ty to do justice to such a subject. It may therefore 
suffice to remark, that by a careful attention to ancient 
promises and prophecies concerning a Messiah, his ap- 
pearance in the world, the wonderful works wrought 
by his miraculous power; the shameful treatment 
which he received among men, his death, and the mans 
ner of it, his resurrection from the dead, the infallible 
proofs of the same, his ascension, the gifts bestowed 
on the Apostles whom he appointed to promulgate his 
gospel, and the wonderful success which attended 
their ministry, by which the religion of Jesus was es- 
tablished on a foundation which can never be removed, 
we are led to say ; " This is the Lord's doings, and 
it is marvellous in our eyes." 

Who will undertake to point out a single item in all 
this vast scheme of infinite wisdom which does not 
perfectly harmonise with the love of God to mankind. 
" God commendeth his love tow r ards us, in that while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." " We 
preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, 
and to the Greeks, foolishness ; but unto them who 
are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the wisdom, of 
God and the power of God." This is that " wisdom 
that is from abc*e, which is first pure, then peaceable, 
gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and 
good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." 
This is that wisdom which was with the Almighty 
when he created all things, " rejoicing always before 
5* 



54 

him ; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth and 
whose delights were with the sons of men." 

That the divine knowledge is in perfect unison with 
the love of God to his creatures, we must grant for 
many reasons, some of which are the following. 

First. That we may avoid introducing imperfection 
into the divine nature, which is nothing short of idola- 
try. Whenever a desire to do good is in exercise, and 
the person who possesses this desire knows for certain- 
ty, that this desire can never be realized or accom- 
plished, there is proof positive of imperfection. 

Secondly. That we may avoid introducing infelici- 
ty into the divine Being. For if his universal un- 
changeable love run in one straight line, and his in- 
fallible knowledge disagree with it, we must allow that 
this disagreement produces an infelicity whose mag- 
nitude corresponds with the greatness of those infinite, 
discordant attributes ! Whoever possesses love which 
inclines the agent to do good to another, and knows 
at the same time that this will never be effected, must, 
in the nature of things, be unhappy to a degree which 
corresponds with the force of this forever unsatisfied 
desire. 

Thirdly. That we may avoid charging God with fol- 
ly, which we should most surely do if we suppose that 
in consequence of his love to the world he sent his Son 
to save the world, when at the same time he knew that 
this salvation would not be effected. Should a pa- 
rent who tenderly loves his child see it in distress, no 
doubt he would try all means which should appear at 
all favorable to relieve it ; but, while he had reason, 
he would never make use of means which he knew 
would, in the room of relieving from distress, increase 
it seven fold. • The divine testimony says ; " God will 
have all men to be saved," and that as a mean of this 
salvation, the one Mediator " gave himself a ransom 
for all." Now if we allow that the ditine knowledge 
comprehended the fact that all men will not be saved, 
we surely charge God with the folly of using means to 
effect what he knew would not be effected. There 
are among men, many who are called learned, and 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 55 

many who are unlearned, who are fully persuaded, 
that all the means which our heavenly Father has seen 
fit to employ for the purpose of saving sinners, will in 
the most of instances forever fail of their designed 
utility. But have we not every good reason for be- 
lieving, that if the divine Being had been fully per 
suaded of this, he never would have used those abor- 
tive means ? In order to avoid an endless series of in- 
consistencies we are compelled to acknowledge a plain 
simple truth, that the infinite knowledge of God is in 
perfect harmony with his boundless unchangeable love, 
which constitutes him infinitely and consummately 
happy ; and lays a foundation on which the human 
mind may rest and enjoy the sweetest possible repose. 
How often is it the case, that we are called to witness 
and to pass through dark scenes of trial in which our 
weak discernment can see no utility, and we are pi- 
ning with despair, and saying " all these things are 
against me;" but how divinely comforting is the 
thought so happily expressed by the Poet ; 

The clouds you so much dread 
Are big with mercy, and will break 
In blessings on your head ; 
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
But trust him for his grace; 
Behind a frowning providence, 
He hides his smiling face. 

That the divine power ever moves according to the 
directions of the love of God, there is no room to 
doubt. Power without will to put it in motion and 
direct it, is dormant and effects nothing. And as it is 
evident, that God cannot will contrary to his nature 
which is love, so ft is equally evident that his power 
never effects any thing which his love does not desire. 
That Almighty Power which controls all worlds, all 
beings, and all elements, moves only as it is directed 
by the gentle, kind, and merciful principles of divine 
love. 

The divine attribute which the sensual, partial wis- 
dom of this world has armed with principles hostile to 
love, is justice. Justice has been held up as an un- 
merciful foe to the transgressor, knowing no favor, but 



56 

demanding the everlasting destruction of all who come 
short of obedience. If we allow this sentiment con- 
cerning the demands of divine justice, is it not evi- 
dent that justice is opposed to love in such demands ? 
This cannot be denied. Those who hold the opinion 
that sinners must be punished everlastingly in the fu- 
ture state, never undertake to prove such an opinion 
' by arguing that sinners are the objects of divine love. 
But justice is always referred to as the attribute which 
is opposed to the sinner's salvation. Now if justice 
and love are opposed to each other in God, does not 
this constitute transgression ? " Sin is the trangres- 
sion of the law," justice is the law ; and if love be op- 
posed to justice, it is opposed to the law, and trans- 
gresses the law ! But St. Paul says ; " love worketh 
no ill to his neighbor ; therefore love is the fulfilling of 
the law." If love fulfils the law, it certainly is not op- 
posed to justice. 

We will for a few minutes, attempt to examine di- 
vine justice, both as to its requirements in its precepts, 
and in its administration of punishments; and careful- 
ly compare with the dictates of divine love, in order 
to see if there be any disagreement. What then does 
the divine law require ? The blessed Saviour explains 
the law as follows; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy mind. This is the first and great command- 
ment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself. On these two command- 
ments hang all the law and the prophets." This is 
what divine justice demands of all men ; this is the 
whole law, as saith the Apostle ; " All the law is ful- 
filled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself." Now compare this divine requi- 
sition with what love requires. Love most surely can- 
not require any thing short of itself. If one person 
love another sincerely, can any thing short of love in 
return give satisfaction ? The parents of a family of 
children love their offspring most affectionately ; this 
love is commended to the children by a thousand fa- 
vors, varied according to their wants. Now what 



57 

does this love require in return ? It requires the chil- 
dren to love their parents. The Apostle says ; " We 
love him, because he first loved- us." Nothing will 
answer as a substitute for love. If the children at- 
tend ever so punctually to the performance of every 
duty enjoined in the precepts of the parents, if love 
be wanting, all is unsavory. Love is the salt that must 
season every performance in order to render it accept- 
able. St. Paul must have had this view of our subject 
when he wrote the following ; " Though I speak with 
the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not char- 
ity, (the same with love) I am become as sounding 
brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the 
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all 
knowledge ; and though I have all faith so that I 
could remove mountains and have not charity, I am 
nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed 
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, 
and have not chanty, it profiteth me nothing." And 
I think we may say according to divine truth, that, 
that sort of justice which is destitute of love, is as 
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal ; it has sounded 
through all Christendom and tinkled in all our ears. 
And as it is destitute of love itself, so it has produced 
none in its votaries. 

Now as we have seen that justice and love are uni- 
ted in their requirements, it may add no little strength 
to the evidence already adduced to look at the princi- 
ple on which they urge their united claim. 

Jn order for any demand to be just, it must be 
founded on a reasonable principle. So if justice and 
love demand of us, that we love God, and one anoth- 
er, it is proper to ascertain the principle on which the 
propriety of this demand is seen. Love and hatred 
are what we are necessarily inclined to ; and we are 
necesarily inclined to love that which is agree- 
able to us, and to hate what is otherwise. It would 
then be a most unreasonable thing to require us to 
love what is not lovely, and to hate what is not 
hateful. If then we are required to love God, it is be- 
cause he is lovely, if rightly understood. If there 



58 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

were any quality in the divine Being which is oppo- 
sed to our well being, it is a most unreasonable thing 
to require us to love that quality. The result then of 
this part of the inquiry is this, namely, justice and 
love both agree in requiring us to love that which is al- 
together for our own profit, and it is not in the nature 
of either to require us to love any object beyond our 
interest. We will not say that this may not be consid- 
ered rather a new kind of argument ; but even if it is, 
this circumstance ought, by no means, to be urged 
against the propriety of it ; it may be urged as a pro- 
per occasion for carefully examining it. If it be ne- 
cessary to make it still more evident, we may ask, 
what or whose interest is to be served by our loving 
that which is of no benefit to ourselves ? No one will 
be so erroneous as to contend that any benefit can re- 
sult to the divine being from our love to him ; and 
certainly not from our loving him beyond our interest 
in him, as it will, at once, be allowed, that it is impos- 
sible to love him more than we are benefitted by him. 
This argument holds equally good as it applies to any 
one, or all of the divine attributes. We cannot love 
wisdom, knowledge, power, justice, truth, mercy or 
love, to a greater degree than we are benefitted by 
these divine principles. 

As we have enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing a per- 
fect agreement in the preceptive requirements of di- 
vine love and justice, it will now increase our ration- 
al felicity if we can see these divine attributes equally 
harmonize in retributive requisitions. But as this ar- 
gument has been instituted for the purpose of showing 
that divine justice does not oppose the sinner's salva- 
tion, we may confine our present remarks to punitive 
requirements. The subject now to be determined is, 
what kind of punishment does divine justice require 
to be inflicted on the transgressor for his offences, for 
what purpose, and to what extent ? Answer : As it is 
not in the nature of divine justice to do any thing to 
prevent its ow r n precepts from being obeyed, it can 
never punish the sinner in any way to prevent his final 
obedience ; but on the other hand, it keeping an eye 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 59 

directly on the original object embraced in the very 
design of the precept, awards that kind of punishment 
which is best calculated to work repentance and re- 
formation, which is the object of punishment, and ad- 
ministers it until the desired effect is produced. It 
seems impossible to extend punishment any further, 
unless we arm it with weapons hostile to its own re- 
quirements. That the hearer may see this subject, 
impossible, still plainer, we will ask, for what possible 
purpose can justice require any punishment to be in- 
flicted on the sinner that does not tend to the sinner's 
benefit ? As no one's interest is the object of the pre- 
cept, except those on whom it is binding, why should 
the punishment for disobedience seek any other inter- 
est than that which is aimed at by the precept ? We 
know it is said that it is necessary to punish an offend- 
er, as a terror to others, to prevent their committing 
offences. But if this be allowed, in room of its mak- 
ing at all against our argument, it goes directly to es- 
tablish it ; therefore it is admitted. 

Do you ask how this is? Answer: If it be right 
and reasonable to punish an offender for the benefit of 
others, it supposes a common interest exists between 
the one punished and those for whose benefit we say 
the punishment is inflicted. This being the princi- 
ple on which the punishment is administered, it can- 
not be inflicted beyond the limits of this common in- 
terest. 

If we are correct in this reasoning, we have the in- 
creased felicity sought, for it will be seen at once that 
divine love as much requires this punishment as jus- 
tice does ; for love cannot require less than that which 
is for the good of its object. O the beauty ! The 
glory of the scene which here opens on our wondering 
eyes ! Divine truth, a golden line, appears lovely be- 
yond description, and mercy lies parallel from the be- 
gining to the end. 

To conclude ; The imperfect view we have been 
able to take of the immense subject of this discourse, 
seems amply sufficient to give elevated thoughts of the 
divine character, thoughts calculated to raise our af- 



60 

fections from every meaner object, and place them on 
God. With what gratitude do we turn our eyes to- 
wards heaven, and realize that God who is love, is our 
Father ; that all his infinitely glorious attributes har- 
monize in love ; that they all work in unison, aiming 
at the highest possible improvement and felicity of all 
moral beings. With what pleasing reflections do we 
behold each other. Children of the same Father, heirs 
of the same inheritance, pilgrims on the same journey, 
and bound to the same eternal home. 

How reasonable it is that we should love, sincerely 
love the God of love. How reasonable is it that we 
should love one another. Our pretensions to religion, 
without love, are but frauds practised on ourselves. 
" He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" Love 
is a " fountain of living waters, a place of broad rivers 
and streams," to which we are invited in the following 
divine language, with which I close ;" Ho, every one 
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that 
hath no money : come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come, 
buy wine and milk without money and without price. 
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood 
and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto 
me and drink." 



LECTURE V. 

MAN ORIGINALLY MADE SUBJECT TO VANITY AND TO 
HOPE. 

ROMANS, viii. 20. 

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason 
of him who hath subjected the same in hope. 

By creature in our text, the Apostle evidently means 
the same as he does by the " whole creation "in the 
22d verse. In this connexion the whole created hu- 
manity is three times called " the creature ;" and once, 
" the whole creation." The subject of the Apostle's 
labor in the place where our text is found, seems to 
be that of presenting to view one of the most pleasing, 
consoling, and encouraging subjects, on which he de- 
lighted to dwell. In the 16th verse he notices the 
testimony of the divine Spirit, that we are the chil- 
dren of God. From this he proceeds to show our heir- 
ship in God, and our joint heirship with Christ. The 
consideration of the infinite riches and glory to which 
mankind are entitled, seemed to call into notice the- 
present state of suffering to which man is subjected in 
this mortal life ; concerning which he speaks as fol- 
lows ; " For I reckon, that the sufferings of this pre- 
sent time are not worthy to be compared with the glo- 
ry which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest ex- 
pectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation 
of the sons of God. For the creature was made sub- 
ject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who 
hath subjected the same in hope ; because the creature 
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of cor- 
ruption into the glorious liberty of the children of 
God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth 
and travaileth in pain together until now ; and not 
6 



62 

only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits 
of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves 
waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our 
body." By our body the author means the same as 
he does by creature, and by the whole creation. Be- 
lievers who have the first fruits of the spirit are dis- 
tinguished in the foregoing quotation from the rest of 
the one body, called the creature and the whole crea- 
tion, but in such a way as to show that they were in 
the same condition with the rest, groaning and waiting 
for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the whole 
body. And it is worthy of special notice, that by first 
fruits of the spirit, the Apostle evidently intimates 
that the redemption of the whole creature which was 
made subject to vanity was considered as the wiiole or 
general harvest. As under the law a few only par- 
took of the first firuits, but all were fed of the general 
harvest; so but a few seem to be partakers of the first 
fruits of the spirit, while the whole human family is en- 
titled to the redemption of our body. 

The vanity to which the creature was made subject 
may comprehend all the imperfections incident to our 
mortal state, but especially and particularly the suffer- 
ings which the author mentioned in the context. He 
was not made subject to vanity on account of his own 
will, for he could have had no will until he was crea- 
ted ; but he was made subject to vanity by reason of 
him who subjected him in hope. The opinion, there- 
fore, that man was constituted in flesh and blood, first 
a perfectly holy being, but was made subject to vanity 
by sin, is as contrary to the plain declaration of our 
text as it is repugnant to the dictates of reason. 

We shall now proceed to examine the common doc- 
trine called the fall of man, and to show the want of 
both scripture and reason for its support. Such lan- 
guage as the following ; " before the fall, since the fall, 
the fall of man, in Adam's fall we sinned all," is com- 
mon among christian people, and is so much used by 
authors and preachers that people in general suppose 
it to be Bible language, and feel confident that the 
scriptures justify such representations. But notwith- 
standing all that hasH)een written and spoken on this 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 63 

subject, and without calling the sincerity of any in 
question, it seems necessary to inform the hearer that 
no such language was ever used by the lawgiver of Is- 
rael, the prophets who spake as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost, the Lord Jesus, or his Apostles. We 
read nothing in the scriptures of Adam's falling from 
the state in which he was created, no more than we 
read of Cain's falling from the state in which he was 
created. We are informed that Adam ate of the for- 
bidden fruit, and we are informed that Cain slew his 
brother, but we are not told that they did these things 
in one constitution of nature, and fell into another con- 
stitution by so doing. If Adam had not been constitu- 
ted in an imperfect state how could he have sinned in 
that state ? It is not supposed that Adam fell out of 
the state in which he was created before he sinned, 
therefore he must have sinned in the state in which he 
was formed of the dust of the ground. If he sinned in 
the state in which he was first formed, then it is evident 
that he was possessed of no perfection or holiness that 
secured him against sin. What alteration was there 
effected in the constitution of Adam by what is called 
the fall ? It seems according to the account given in 
Genesis, that Adam was not very dissimilar to men in 
all ages of the world ; he was led into sin by his com- 
panion. She who was formed and given to Adam for 
a help-meet was the means of leading him into sin ; 
and how many thousands in all ages of the world have 
been led into sin by this kind blessing of heaven ! 
Nor does it appear from any account we have in scrip- 
ture, that Adam was any more inflexible than his pos- 
terity in general. We have no account of his with- 
standing strong temptations for a long time ; it seems 
the first temptation was successful. If we should 
carefully compare the conduct of Adam with what we 
read of Joseph, candor would conclude at once in 
favor of the latter. The former did sin, but Joseph 
did not. But here we should do great injustice if we 
should contend that there was such a difference in the 
constitutions of the two as to produce the difference 
which appears in their conduct ; for this difference 



64 BALLOUS' LECTURES. 

might have arisen from circumstances distinct from 
natural constitution. 

The common doctrine on the subject of this in- 
quiry supposes that there was a real change produced 
in man's very nature by the first transgression ; and 
such a change too, as to render the creature radically 
sinful and totally inclined to sin. But we read no 
such account where those things are particularly re- 
corded. So far from any thing of this kind, we are 
not informed that either Adam or Eve ever commit- 
ted a second crime. The faithful word informs us 
that these first parents of mankind lived a long time 
after eating of the forbidden fruit, but we hear nothing 
of their living vicious lives. The second sin of which 
we read is the murder of Abel, and this crime was so 
heinous even in the mind of Cain, that he thought he 
should have to die by the hand of some avenger. If 
man's very nature was so changed by Adam's sin as 
common opinion supposes, why have we no account 
of Adam's wicked life and of Eve's abominations ? 
Why is there no mention made of the wickedness of 
Abel ? Did not Abel partake of this fall ? Or was it 
in Adam's power to communicate, or not communi- 
cate this sinful nature by procreation ? The fact is we 
have no authority for this doctrine which is called the 
fall. 

The most extravagant part of the common doctrine 
of the first transgression and its consequences, relates to 
the means by which Eve was beguiled. So immaculate 
and holy were our first parents, that had it not been 
for the beguiling acts of a superior being, says com- 
mon doctrine, Eve could never have been tempted 
with success. This presumed, the next thing is to 
fabricate a story about a fallen Angel who was once 
for glory and beauty the morning star of heaven ; but 
who by rebellion fell from the state in which he was 
created, and was consigned to the burning lake for 
the punishment of his sin. This prince of devils, it 
is believed, assumed the body of a serpent and per- 
suaded her to believe that she could better her condi- 
tion by disobeying her Maker. Milton has told this 






65 

story in such a fanciful manner, that the sentiment has 
been incorporated into the christian faith so that a de- 
nial of it is the same as a denial of the whole christian 
doctrine, in the opinion which we are examining. 

Now t if this notion of a fallen Angel &c. be a fact, 
w 7 hy are the scriptures silent on the subject ? Where 
we read in Genesis of the serpent tempting Eve, there 
is nothing said concerning a fallen Angel called the 
devil. But let us ask how this Angel came to sin. It 
is contended that Eve was so perfect that she never 
would have sinned unless she had been beguiled by a 
superior mind. Now if this were the case how shah 
we account for the sin of the Angel who fell and be 
came a devil ? Was he less holy before he sinned, 
than our first parents? If he could sin without a 
tempter why could not man sin without a temp- 
ter? It must be allowed that this Angel sinned on ac- 
count of imperfection in his nature, without a tempter, 
or it must be granted that he had one to tempt him. 
But whether he was tempted by some other being, or by 
reason of his constitutional infirmity, both alike prove 
his imperfection ; for if he had been perfect, temptations 
could not have risen from within him, nor from without 
could they have had any power upon him. This is 
equally applicable to man. He must have been imper- 
fect, and subject to vanity or he could not have been led 
into sinby temptations from within or from without. 

The hearer will easily perceive that there is no oth- 
er way to account for the first transgression than by 
admitting a constitutional imperfection, in the agent ; 
he will furthermore see that a sinful being can have no 
power to lead one who is perfect in holiness into trans- 
gression ; all beings, therefore, who are sinful must 
have been made subject to vanity, which is the state 
in which man stood when formed of the dust of the 
ground, and according to the Apostle's testimony in 
our text. 

As it seems impossible to avoid this conclusion con- 
cerning the imperfect state of man in the beginning, 
we shall consent, at once, to the idea in our text, that 
the creature was made subject to vanity, not because 
6* 



66 

of his own will, but by reason of the will of his Maker 
who saw fit, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, to 
subject the creature to all the vanity of this mortal 
state in hope of a better and more perfect state here- 
after. 

Let us, in the next place, proceed to examine the 
account which inspiration has given of the first temp- 
tation and sin ; and let us do this with honest and 
candid minds, with a determination to be satisfied with 
the scripture account. 

" Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast 
of the field which the Loid God had made, and he 
said unto the woman, yea, hath God said ye shall not 
eat of every tree of the garden ?" To this question 
the woman returned the true answer, to which the 
serpent replied ; " Ye shall not surely die. For God 
doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your 
eyes shall be opened ; and ye shall be as gods, knowing 
good and evil." Here is the whole account of the 
first temptation. And here let the question be hon- 
estly and candidly examined, (viz.) What is there in 
this account about an Angel's falling from heaven to 
hell, and coming from hell to the earth, and of his 
tempting Eve ? Surely there is not a word that so 
much as intimates any thing on the subject. But it is 
contended, that the serpent could not have tempted 
Eve, if some evil agent had not been in him and mov- 
ed him to perform so crafty a work. Why then does 
the account say that the serpent was more subtle than 
any beast of the field ? If the temptation was the 
craftiness of some other creature, and not the subtlety 
of the serpent, it was different from the scripture re- 
presentation, which suggests no other subtlety in the 
case than that of the serpent. Moreover, if it had 
been seme invisible agent, who, entering into the ser- 
pent, wrought the temptation in question, it was that 
invisible agent, and not the serpent that was the temp- 
ter, and ought to have been the subject of the maledic- 
tion which was pronounced on the serpent. " And 
the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast 
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 67 

every beast of the field : upon thy belly shalt thou go, 
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And 
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy 
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." All this was 
said to the serpent, but there was nothing said to that 
abominable wicked Angel that sinned in heaven, and 
who was banished to hell for his sin, and from hell 
came to this earth and tempted Eve! 

By this time the hearer will ask if the speaker real- 
ly supposes that a literal serpent did actually talk to 
the woman and influence her to eat of a forbidden 
fruit ? No, he does not. He humbly conceives that 
this account is given in a scriptural allegory, which may 
all be explained by a little attention to the scriptures. 
In scripture, the serpent is a hieroglyphic of wisdom. — 
Jesus commanded his disciples to be wise as serpents. 
As there are two sorts of wisdom mentioned in scrip- 
ture, so they are represented by two kinds of serpents. 
The Apostle James speaks of wisdom as follows; 
"Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge 
among you? Let him show, out of a good conversa- 
tion, his works with meekness and wisdom. But if 
ye have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory 
not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom de- 
scendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devil- 
ish. For where envying and strife is, there is confu- 
sion, and every evil work. But the wisdom that is 
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and 
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, 
without partiality and without hypocrisy." 

The wisdom of God is represented by the rod of 
Moses which became a serpent ; and the wisdom of . 
this world which cometh to naught, is represented by | 
the rods of the wise men and sorcerers of Egypt, which, 
likewise became serpents. The superiority of the wis- 
dom of God over the wisdom of the flesh is represented 
by Aaron's rod swallowing up the magicians' rods. 
Another representation of these two wisdoms we have 
in the account given of the fiery serpents that bit and 
destroyed the Israelites in the wilderness, and that bra j 



68 

zen serpent which Moses made by the special com- 
mand of God, whose virtues were a sovereign cure for 
the deadly stings of the fiery serpents. These fiery 
serpents represent the wisdom of this world, and the 
evil effects of their bite are a very just representation 
of the evil effects of false religion. And our blessed 
Saviour has made use of the brazen serpent to repre- 
sent himself. He says; "And as Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man 
be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have eternal life." When the Israel- 
ites were bitten by the fiery serpents, and the deadly 
poison was diffused throughout their distressed bodies, 
only a look at the brazen serpent on the pole effected 
a radical cure of the deadly wound. So by looking 
unto Jesus, who is the wisdom of God, we are recov- 
ered from the dreadful contagion of our earthly sen- 
sual wisdom. Thus the promised seed bruises the 
serpent's head. 

Let us look in the next place, and ascertain if pos- 
sible, the source of this sensual wisdom which is en- 
mity against the wisdom of God, and which tempts us 
to sin. St. James says; "Every man is tempted 
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin ; 
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." — 
To the Galatians St. Paul says ; " I say then, walk in 
the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 
For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit 
against the flesh ; and these are contrary the one to 
the other ; so that ye cannot do the things that ye 
would." Is not the account given by St. Paul and St. 
James, a plain, reasonable representation of the power 
of the fleshly nature to strive against the spirit of di- 
vine wisdom in us, to tempt us and to lead us into sin 
which produces death ? And if this be the way that we 
are tempted, have we any reason to believe that it is 
not the way in which Eve was tempted in the begin- 
ning ? Yea, is not this contentious, sensual wisdom of 
the flesh, the serpent which beguiled the woman? 
And is it not the same serpent which now beguiles 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 69 

both men and women and leads them into sin and 
death ? Furthermore, St. Paul says; " Now the works 
of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; adultery, 
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witch- 
craft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, sedi- 
tions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revel- 
lings, and such like." These works are all the nat- 
ural productions of our fleshly, earthly nature, and 
the wisdom which is earthly, sensual, devilish, is 
the serpent which beguiles us. Now if we have 
found the real source of our own temptations, we have 
also found the source of the temptations of all man- 
kind, not excepting the mother of our race. Flesh 
and blood was the same in the beginning as it is now, 
its powers were the same, its lusts were the same, its 
wisdom was the same, and it is to the powers and 
appetites of the flesh that every sin we commit may be 
traced. 

St. Paul says ; " The woman being deceived, was 
in the transgression." Could she have been deceived 
if she had been truly wise ? No, but she was made 
subject to vanity. If she had been perfectly satisfied 
with her condition would she have disobeyed her Ma- 
ker for the sake of being more wise ? And was it not 
perfectly natural for her to wish to have her husband 
with her in this wisdom ? There appears nothing in 
this whole account that differs from our common ex- 
perience and observation. There is no condition in 
which man can be placed, in the present state, that 
can bound his desires, or render him perfectly satisfied 
with what he possesses. There has been much said 
concerning the happy, the consummately happy state 
in which Adam and Eve were placed in the garden ; long 
accounts have been dressed up in all the beauties of 
rhetoric concerning the felicity of the happy pair before 
transgression. But to describe the dreadful conse- 
quences of the first sin, the calamitous change which it 
effected in all nature here on earth, and the endless wo 
to which the whole posterity of Adam was exposed by 
it, has exhausted all the powers of human imagina- 
tion. And yet, if we look for these things in the scrip- 



70 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

tures we find them not. What is said of the happy 
state of our first parents before they knew good and 
evil? Nothing. How does the word of divine reve- 
lation expatiate on the miserable state into which the 
first transgression brought man ? It extends the sub- 
ject no further than human experience in all ages of 
the world extends it. Sin was attended with guilt and 
fear according to the first account we have of it, and 
experience has taught us all, that guilt and fear are its 
natural consequences. But that the first transgression 
was attended with worse consequences than the sins 
which were committed afterward, we find no authori- 
ty for believing. And what would be the fruits of 
our researches should we examine what the scriptures 
say concerning the state of endless wo to which the 
first sin exposed the whole human race ? Why in 
fact we should search in vain to find any thing of the 
kind in the word of God. Even the serpent had no 
malediction pronounced on him, that either deprived 
him of his natural food or extended beyond his natu- 
ral life ; much less, if possible, was there any suggestion 
either to the man or the woman, that the consequences 
of their sin would extend into a future state. 

AW the vain notions which the earthly, sensual 
wisdom of this world has framed on this subject are 
evidences in support of what we have endeavoured 
to make evident, namely, that imperfection and sin 
manifest themselves in our strife to be wise by violat- 
ing the word of God ; and that vanity to which man is 
the most inclined, is seen in his inventions by which 
he renders truth, which is perfectly simple in itself, ob- 
scure and mysterious. 

But shall it be said, because God has made the 
creature subject to all this vanity, that he is therefore 
unfriendly to his offspring ? No, my brethren, this 
is not the case. Blessed be God, though in his in- 
finite wisdom he saw best to subject his creatures to 
vanity in this mortal state, he has made extensive and 
ample provisions in his providence to render this vain 
state convenient in an infinite variety of ways, and has 
so bountifully scattered down his blessings that we 



BULLOUS LECTURES. 71 

have constant reason to rejoice in his goodness. He 
did not forsake man in the beginning of»his career in 
sin, but though he manifested his holy disapprobation 
of the defection of his children, he made them sensi- 
ble likewise of his fatherly kindness and unchangeable 
goodness. How affecting is the account we have of 
the voice of the Lord God in the cool of the day call- 
ing after Adam. How tender are the words ; " Adam, 
Adam, where art thou ? " Who can hear the lan- 
guage of divine mercy expressed in the promise of the 
seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent's 
head, without emotions of lively gratitude ? That all 
gracious, merciful Creator, w 7 ho made the creature sub- 
ject to vanity, subjected him in hope. 

The reason assigned by the Apostle, why the crea- 
ture was subjected to vanity in hope, he expresses in 
the verse following our text in these words ; " Because 
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bon- 
dage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
dren of God." Just above he had said ; "The spirit it- 
self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the 
children of God. And if children, then heirs ; heirs 
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that we 
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together 
For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall 
be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the 
creature waiteth for the maifestation of the sons of 
God." 

As the creature was not the author of this state of 
vanity, so he is not the author of that hope in which 
he is subjected ; no nor is he the author of that glori- 
ous liberty of the sons of God into which the whole 
creation shall be delivered, from the bondage of cor- 
ruption. 

This hope of life and immortality, our kind and 
merciful Creator has implanted in our nature, and it 
seems to exist as universally as the idea of a supreme 
Being. Those notions which owe their origin to the 
inventions of priests, and their standing to the super 
stition of the ignorant are not universal ; they are lim 



72 

ited to a certain denominations or nations, and have 
nothing in them which compares with the wisdom and 
goodness of the divine Being. But the universality of 
the hope of a future, happy existence, very fitly com- 
pares with the impartial goodness of God, from which 
circumstance it acquires no small share o[ its natural 
evidence. 

But one of the principal objects of tne gospel of Je- 
sus Christ seems to have been, to present us with full 
and adequate proof of the doctrine of a future happy 
state for all mankind. 

Speaking of Jesus, the Apostle says; "Who hath 
brought life and immortality to light through the gos- 
pel." 

The hearer is cautioned against the notion, that our 
Saviour was sent into the world to go through a pro- 
cess in order to purchase, or procure life and immor- 
tality for man ; for he came to suffer, die, and rise 
from the dead, that he might bring life and immortali- 
ty to light ; that is, that he might make that manifest 
which the creature groaned and travailed for, and 
which God had given unto us in Christ Jesus before 
the world began. 

This glorious liberty of the sons of God, in hope of 
which the whole creation groans and travails in pain, 
is the inheritance of which we are joint-heirs with 
Christ. Jesus our fore-runner hath entered into glory, 
and being the head of every man, is " the first fruits of 
them that slept. For since by man came death, by 
man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as 
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive." 

From the doctrine of our text may be drawn, the fol- 
lowing inferences : 

1st. The opinion which has long maintained that 
the first temptation which led to the introduction of 
sin into our world, was the instigation of a fallen Angel, 
appears to be without foundation or authority in the 
scriptures, which plainly indicate that the constitution- 
al infirmities of flesh and blood are in fact the source 
from whence all sinful temptations rise. 



73 

2d. That the common notion which christian peo- 
ple entertain and cultivate in the minds of their chil- 
dren, of an invisible agent, who was once a holy angel 
in heaven, that now continually accompanies people 
wherever they go, and is all the time tempting them to 
sin, is nothing more than an invention of the wisdom 
of the flesh, and is supported by no other means than 
superstition. Is there even a child, who has come to 
the years of discretion, that cannot see, that in order 
for this evil agent to do all that is attributed to him, 
he must be every where at the same time ? It seems 
reasonable that we should be rightly informed on this 
subject, because if we have enemies to contend with, 
it is surely necessary to know them and to know their 
strength. Our appetites and passions are at all times 
with us ; and though they are all good in the place 
for which they were made, and for the use for which 
they were created, yet as they are blind in proportion 
to their strength, they will surely lead us into sin 
if they are not governed by wisdom and prudence. 

3d. There appears no authority for the common 
opinion, that the first transgression produced a radical 
change in the moral constitution of man, or that in 
consequence of this first sin, man became totally deprav- 
ed and altogether opposed to all good, and inclined 
wholly to all evil. Nor does it appear that there 
was any such change effected in the physical consti- 
tution of the creature, as to communicate any taint to 
posterity. If even Cain had been wholly inclined to 
evil by nature, he would have been as likely to take 
the life of Abel without the occasion mentioned in 
the Scriptures as with it. — And if Abel had been wholly 
inclined to evil, he would have been as likely to take the 
life of Cain, and even that of Adam and Eve, as Cain 
to take his life. Before sin took place it required a temp- 
tation to produce it, and since the first transgression 
the case has always been the same ; every crime is pre- 
ceded by temptation, which would not be required if 
man was naturally altogether inclined to evil. 

4th. The religion of Jesus affords us divine eviden- 
ces in support of that glorious hope of life and immor 
7 



74 BALLOU S LECTURES. 

taliiy in which the whole created humanity was made 
subject to vanity. How infinitely rich is this blessed 
hope ! This is the " anchor of the soul, both sure 
and steadfast, entering into that within the vail where 
our fore-runner hath for us entered/' Calmly leaning 
on this, Faith casts her longing eyes beyond the proud 
swellings of the Jordan of death, sees the inviting land 
of promise, lays hold of the earnest of the inheritance, 
and sings the triumphant song; " O death, where is 
thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? " 



LECTURE. VI. 

SALVATION IMPARTIAL AND UNIVERSAL. 

ISAIAH xxv. 6, 7, 8. 

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feasf 
rf fat things, a feast of wines on the lees; of fat things full of marrow, of wines 
on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the 
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations 
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away 
tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from 
off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it." 

The first subject of inquiry found in this portion of di- 
vine truth is to ascertain what the inspired author means 
by the mountain of which he speaks in our text. 

The same Prophet in his 2d chapter speaks as fol- 
lows ; " And it shall come to pass in the last days that 
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be estab- 
lished upon the top of the mountains, and shall be 
exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow 
unto it." As the prophet here speaks of the estab- 
lishment of the mountain of the Lord's house upon the 
top of the mountains, it seems to indicate the setting 
up of the divine power and government over the powers 
and polities of this world ; the exalting of the mountain 
of the Lord's house above the hills signifies the exalta- 
tion of the divine economy and government over all the 
powers of the earth. The same in substance is found in 
the 2d chapter of Daniel, where the four great empires 
of the world are particularly characterised, their dissolu- 
tion represented, and the kingdom of God set up and 
established. "Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, 
the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and 
became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors ; 
and the wind carried them away, that no place was 
found for them ; and the stone that smote the image, 
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth " 



76 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

This is explained as follows ; " And in the days of 
these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom 
which shall never be destroyed : and the kingdom shall 
not be left to another people, but it shall break in 
pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 
stand forever." 

The gospel covenant is represented by mount Sion, 
in the epistle to the Hebrews ; " But ye are come unto 
mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem," &c. Here the same which is 
called a mountain is called the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem. In the epistle to the Gala- 
tians the two covenants are represented by the al- 
legory of Sarah and Hagar ; " For this Agar is mount 
Sina, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is 
in bondage, with her children. But Jerusalem which 
is above, is free, which is the mother of us ail." 
This is the same Jerusalem of which mention is 
made in the 21st of Revelations, as follows : " And 
I John saw the holy City, new Jerusalem, coming- 
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride, 
adorned for her husband." This mount Sion, this 
heavenly, new Jerusalem, this city of the living God 
is the mountain of the Lord's house which is to be es- 
tablished upon the top of the mountains, and exalted 
above the hills, and unto which all nations are to flow. 
All nations will finally submit to the laws and govern- 
ment of the gospel, and be willing subjects of him 
who " shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from 
the river unto the ends of the earth, of the increase 
of whose government and peace there shall be no 
end." 

As the prophet informs us, that all nations shall 
flow to this mountain of the Lord's house, so in our 
text he says ; " In this mountain shall the Lord of 
hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things," which 
invites us to the consideration of the universality of 
the grace of the gospel. 

The divinity of this testimony is visible on the face 
of it. It is like every thing which belongs to the wis- 
dom and goodness of God. There is no partiality in 



BALLOUS' LECTURES. 77 

it. Every thing contrived by man discovers lts^origin 
by its partiality ; so whatever is revealed from God 
proves itself to be from him by its impartiality. This 
universal impartial language is the language which the 
Holy Ghost saw fit to use to express the extensiveness 
of the divine goodness. The promises of God to 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, expressive of the gospel 
covenant are recorded in similar language. God cer- 
tified the fathers, that in the promised seed all the na- 
tions and all the families of the earth should be bless- 
ed. These promises perfectly harmonise with the 
prophecy under consideration. In this mountain, in 
this seed, in this covenant, in this kingdom, in this 
city, in this government the Lord of host shall make 
unto all people a feast of fat things. The same uni- 
versality is expressed in the 2d Psalm. " I have set 
my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the 
decree ; the Lord hath said unto me, thou art my 
son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and 
I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." 
Like unto this is the following in the 22d Psalm, " All 
the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto 
the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall 
worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's ; 
and he is the governor among the nations '* This 
word kindreds, is used by St. Peter in the 3d of Acts. 
" Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the cov- 
enant which God made, with the fathers, saying unto 
Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of 
the earth be blessed. 5 ' According to this divine dec- 
laration., all the kindreds of the earth are the children, 
and if children, then heirs of the testimony of the 
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with 
the fathers. In prospect of these great and glorious 
things of the kingdom of God, the prophet David says, 
in the 64th psalm : " All men shall fear, and shall de- 
clare the work of God ; for they shall wisely consider 
of his doings. " In the 7*2d psalm we find the follow- 
ing ; " He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and 
from the river unto the ends of the earth — men shall 
7* 



78 

be biased in him, all nations shall call him blessed — 
all kings shall fall down before him ; all nations shall 
serve him." Psalm 86th, "All nations whom thou 
hast made shall come and worship before thee 
Lord ; and shall glorify thy name, for thou art great, 
and doest wondrous things ; thou art God alone." In 
bearing such testimony as the foregoing, David was a 
man "after God's own heart." In addition to what 
has been quoted from the prophet Isaiah, the following 
may be mentioned ; Chapter 52d, " Break forth into 
joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem ; for 
the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed 
Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm 
in the eyes of all the nations ; and all the ends of the 
earth shall see the salvation of our God." Chap. 53 — 
" All we, like sheep, have gone astray : we have turn- 
ed every one to his own way : and the Lord hath laid 
on him the iniquity of us all — He shall see of the tra- 
vail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ; by his know- 
ledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he 
shall bear their iniquities." Chapter 49th, " And he 
said, it is a light thing that thou shouldst be my ser- 
vant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore 
the preserved of Israel ; I will also give thee for a light 
to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation unto 
the ends of the earth." Time would fail us to recite 
all this kind of testimony from the prophets who spake 
of the coming of the Just One, and of the glory that 
should follow.. We find in the New Testament many 
arguments and declarations corresponding with the 
promises of God and the sayings of the prophet on this 
glorious subject of universal grace. Jesus said, "God 
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world 
but that the world through him might be saved." The 
beloved disciple says ; " We have seen and do tes- 
tify, that the Father sent the Son to be the saviour of 
the world." Again he says that " Jesus Christ the 
righteous is the propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world." St. Paul bestows much argument to' 
show that " where sin abounded, grace hath much 
more abounded ; and that as by the offence of one, 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 



79 



judgment came upon all men unto condemnation, even 
so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon 
all men unto justification of life." He exhorts Timo- 
thy to pray and give thanks for all men, because God 
will have all men to be saved, and as a reason for this 
he says, that the one Mediator gave himself a ransom 
for all, to be testified in due time. 

Having presented the hearer with this very limited 
sketch of the divine testimony in favor of the universal 
goodness of God to mankind, a humble desire is felt 
that we may now look with enlightened eyes and can- 
did minds, to see how this doctrine agrees with the 
works and ways of God which are visible. 

Can we see in all the works of God, any instance 
where the Creator has discovered any want of good- 
ness to the creature which he has made? Is there 
any thing that we can point out in his universal provi- 
dence that is a proof of a design to harm the works of 
his hands ? Every animal, every fish, every bird, eve- 
ry reptile and every insect speaks forth the goodness 
of its Creator. Is there a nation on the earth who are 
so treated by the divine Being, that they can say to 
the world, we have never received a favor from our 
Creator ? Is there an individual among men who will 
stand forth and protest against all the doings of God, 
and say, I have received nothing but evil from the hand 
that formed me ? Is there a son or a daughter of sor- 
row in the hearing of this humble voice, who will as- 
sure us that " these light afflictions, which are but for 
a moment," will not " work for us an exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory :" and that God is not good 
unto all, and that his tender mercies are not over all 
his works ? 

Much has been said in the christian church, and 
much has been maintained by the prejudices of the ig- 
norant against the universal goodness of God, and in 
favor of a partial system of salvation ; but after all, the 
great question is, has God furnished those who limit 
his favor, with sufficient proof that they are right in so 
doing ? In his sun-shine and in his rain does the 
Father of our spirits inform us, that he has elected a 



80 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

few only of his rational offspring to be heirs of his 
grace, and that the remainder are doomed to everlast- 
ing wo ? No ! the bles'sed rays of the sun which 
makes our day, and warms the earth, the rain from 
heaven, which waters our fields and our orchards and 
our gardens, preach the doctrine of universal impartial 
goodness ; and so do all the elements in the infinite 
variety of their productions. The water we drink, the 
air we breathe, the food we receive, the raiment we 
wear, the strength of our bodies, the abilities of our 
minds, our health, the sweets of friendship, the beau- 
ties our eyes behold, the charms of music, the flavor of 
fruits, in short every subject of thought agrees in de- 
claring the impartial goodness of God. 

The enemies of this doctrine, would persuade us to 
believe that it tends to licentiousness, and removes 
all restraint necessary to prevent the grossest immor- 
tality. But have they ever attempted to show that 
the universal promise of grace in the seed of Abraham, 
ever tended to make that friend of God, who believed 
it licentious? Will they undertake to show that the 
united testimony of all God's holy prophets since the 
world began, who have spoken of the restitution of all 
things, has made the believers of the faithful word 
perverse and sinful ? Can you, my friends, see any 
thing licentious in the sun-shine or in the rain, of which 
all are made to share in rich abundance ? Is the vital 
air licentious because it is free grace to every living 
being? Are the cooling springs and limpid streams 
lasivious in their impartial favor? In all these things 
God preaches every day, and his auditors rejoice in 
his mercy. 

Having noticed the universality of this promised 
grace of the gospel covenant, it may be proper to in- 
quire something concerning what is promised. " A 
feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees ; of fat 
things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refin- 
ed." This is surely a description, of a most sumptu- 
ous feast. Here are no indications of poverty and 
want. This feast too is made for all people ! I cast 
my eyes around, I rejoice, my heart swells with joy. 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 81 

This feast is made for you all ! Can it be possible that 
this God of universal mercy should have any enemies ? 
Yes, men are enemies to God by wicked works ; yet 
for these very enemies he has made this feast of fat 
things. But of what does this feast consist? Answer, 
it is composed of the fruit of the spirit which is " love, 
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness, temperance." This is the river, " the 
streams whereof make glad the city of our God." 

What is richer, what is sweeter, what is more nour- 
ishing than love ? Love to God and love to man is 
life, it is peace, it is joy, it is long-suffering, it is gen- 
tleness it is goodness ; it believeth all things, it hopeth 
all things, it endureth all things ; it is meekness, it is 
temperance, it is the fulfilling of the law, it is ev- 
erlasting righteousness. This is the milk and honey 
of spiritual Canaan. This is the feast of which we 
read in the 9th of Proverbs ; " Wisdom hath built 
her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars ; 
she hath killed her beast ; she hath mingled her 
wine ; she hath also furnished her table ; she hath 
sent forth her maidens ; she crieth upon the high pla- 
ces of the city, whoso is simple, let him turn in hither ; 
as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to 
him, come eat of my bread and drink of the wine 
which I have mingled, forsake the foolish and live : 
and go in the way of understanding." By the Pro- 
phet Isaiah w r e are invited to this feast in the following 
language : " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to 
the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy 
and eat : yea, come, buy wine and milk without mo- 
ney, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend mo- 
ney for that which is not bread ? and your labor for 
that which satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto 
me, and eat of that which is good, and let your soul 
delight itself in fatness." And the blessed Jesus, in 
the great day of the feast, stood and cried, " If any 
man thirst let him come unto me and drink." By such 
language as the foregoing, from the prophet and from 
the Saviour, w r e are assured that this feast is made for 
"all people." If this were not the case the Holy 



82 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

Ghost would not use general and universal terms in 
calling on people to come to it. Should one of our 
wealthy citizens make a public entertainment, and 
send his servants into the streets to invite the people 
in such language as is used in scripture to invite sin- 
ners to the gospel feast, every person who heard such 
invitations would either believe that he was welcome, 
or that the man who made the feast was a hypocrite. 
To talk about general calls and special calls in this 
case would never satisfy common sense. 

Our brother, who holds to conditional salvation 
may be admitted to bring his objection against the 
final salvation of all men, and say, that the feast 
is made for all who will come, and the invitation is to 
whosoever will. Reply : We grant his premises, but 
disallow his consequences. We will ask him whether 
he would be concerned for fear bis children would 
starve to death, if he had bread enough to give them ? 
Would any person be concerned for their children or 
friends, for fear they would starve, when they had 
enough to eat ? It is true there may be difficulties to 
be removed ; there may be a case in which though 
there be a plenty of provision, the children may not 
know where it is. In this case the parent would cer- 
tainly use means to inform them. Again, children 
may be plagued with disobedient hearts, they may 
wander from home, they may, from being displeased, 
refuse to come to the parental table, but hunger will 
cure all these difficulties. — Let the child that wilfully 
refuses to eat, be indulged in its own way, how soon 
will hunger humble its spirit. How came the brethren 
of Joseph all to prostrate themselves before him? 
These men who were so determined that the dreams 
of Joseph should never be fulfilled, who despised the 
thought of falling on their knees to their brother, were 
humbled by famine. The stout hearted, haughty 
prodigal was humbled, brought to himself, and made 
willing to return to his father's house by the force of 
hunger. Was there ever any uncertainty respecting 
the reduction of Joseph's brethren to a state of humili- 
ty ? Was there any uncertainty about the final return 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 83 

of the prodigal ? No, nor is there any uncertainty 
that " All the ends of the world shall remember and 
turn unto the Lord." 

That law by which all creatures are governed ren- 
ders it certain that all people will feed on the best pro- 
visions they can procure, especially if it cost them 
nothing. 

If Ephraim of old, fed on wind, and followed after 
the east wind, it was because he knew of nothing 
better. And if people now are as much deceived as 
Ephraim was, they may endeavor to feed on every 
wind of doctrine that blows from the high places of 
spiritual wickedness ; but it is because they know of 
nothing better. God says, by the mouth of the Pro- 
phet Hosea ; " My people are destroyed for lack of 
knowledge." This situation of mankind seems to in- 
vite us to the consideration of another important sub- 
ject in our text, expressed in the following words ; 
" And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the 
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread 
over all nations." 

This vail or face of covering which has been spread 
over all nations is the ignorance and unbelief of which 
St. Paul speaks in Romans 11th, " For God hath 
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have 
mercy upon all." And the same Apostle has more 
on the same subject in his 2d Epistle to the Corinthi- 
ans ; " Seeing then that we have such hope, we use 
great plainness of speech ; and not as Moses which 
put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel 
could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is 
abolished : but their minds were blinded : for until 
this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in 
reading the Old Testament ; which vail is done away 
in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is 
read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless, 
when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken 
away." 

The gospel dispensation and ministry were design- 
ed for the enlightening and instructing of mankind. 
Jesus was a teacher sent from God ; the Apostles 



84 

were commanded to teach all nations, and preach the 
gospel to every creature. In short, the true know- 
ledge of God is the life and salvation which the Sa- 
viour brings to the world ; it is the feast of fat things 
which is made in mount Sion for all people. Jesus said 
in his prayer to the Father : " Glorify thy Son, that thy 
Son also may glorify thee : thou hast given him pow- 
er over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as 
many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, 
that they might know thee the only true God and Je- 
sus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Did every child of 
Adam now know God and Jesus Christ, they would 
have eternal life. We are told, that this is the record, 
that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life 
is in his Son ; that is, the knowledge of God is in Christ 
Jesus. Salvation then consists in knowing God, which 
makes it evident that the nature of God is salvation. 
As fast, therefore, as we advance in the knowledge of 
God we enjoy the rich provisions which are made for 
all people. The hearer may now see the nature of 
the general subject. The love, wisdom, knowledge 
and goodness of God are free for all people and are 
calculated to bless, with fulness of joy, every creature. 
In the divine economy man is constituted capable of 
advancing in wisdom, knowledge, and love, and there- 
fore seems destined in his nature to the enjoyments 
under consideration. 

When "all shall know the Lord," there will be no 
need of one's teaching another ; the vail then will be 
gone, there will be no unbelief, and of course no hard- 
ness of heart. The knowledge of the Lord shall cov- 
er the earth, as the waters cover the sea. 

Will the advocate for limited salvation, and the end- 
.ess misery of mankind pretend, that those who are 
to be forever miserable are to remain ignorant of the 
true character of God ? Will the time never come 
when deception will be removed ? Have we reason to 
believe, that error will be secured from divine light so as 
to remain in the mind forever ? Or will the opposer 
say : No, error will be destroyed, and the deceived will 
be brought to see and know the truth, but then it 



85 

will all be too late ! The day of his probation will 
then be ended, and he not saved ? This has an 
awful sound,- and such talk has greatly troubled 
thousands, but enlightened none. Let us ask, how it 
can be possible that any rational being should know 
divine truth too late to enjoy it ? Is it possible to 
know God and Jesus Christ and not be rilled with di- 
vine love ? But this subject is erroneously- represent- 
ed, as if we were to receive eternal life as a reward for 
knowing God in a certain given time, called the time 
of our probation ; after which it would be no advan- 
tage to us to know him. This idea does not acknow- 
ledge the truth of the words of Jesus ; " This is life 
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, 
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." 

The hearer is now invited to give a moment's atten- 
tion to another most weighty subject contained in the 
passage under consideration, and expressed in the fol- 
lowing words ; " He Avill swallow up death in victory." 
Death is ol two kinds, moral and natural. Moral 
death is the effect of sin, natural death is the effect of 
a mortal constitution. In order to swallow up these 
two kinds of death, sin must be finished, everlasting 
righteousness take its place, and mortality must put on 
immortality. The scriptures are clear on these sub- 
jects, and leave no room for doubt. The fore-runner 
of Jesus said of him ; " Behold the lamb of God which 
taketh away the sin of the world." The beloved dis- 
ciple said ; " And we know that he was manifested to 
take away our sins." Again ; " If any man sin we 
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins ; and 
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 
world." Again ; " For this purpose was the son of 
God manifested, that he might destroy the works of 
the devil." Moral death consists in unreconciliation to 
God and is swallowed up in victory by the ministration 
of reconciliation, to wit : " that God was in Christ rec- 
onciling the world to himself, not imputing their tresp- 
asses unto them." Reconciliation to God is victory over 
moral death. St. Paul says to the Romans ; " Moreovei 
8 



86 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

law entered that the offence might abound, but where 
sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as 
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign 
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ 
our Lord. — For when ye were the servants of sin, ye 
were free from righteousness What fruit had ye then 
in those things whereof ye are now ashamed; for the 
end of those things is death. But now, being made 
free from sin and become servants to God, ye have 
your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is 
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

The 15th chapter of the 1st epistle of the Corinthi- 
ans is principally devoted to the support of the doc- 
trine of the resurrection of the dead on the hypothesis 
that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive." The hearer is earnestly solicited to 
read this chapter with peculiar attention, by which he 
will perceive that the Apostle did not believe in a 
state of sin and misery after the resurrection, but a 
glorious state of life and immortality The consumma- 
tion of this transcendent event the inspired author in- 
forms us is the fulfilment of our subject. " Then shall 
be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is 
swallowed up in victory." — Lastly, " And the Lord 
God shall wipe away tears from off all faces : and the 
rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the 
earth ; for the Lord hath spoken it." Here the pro- 
phet presents us with the most moving scene that ever 
imagination could invent, or language describe. He 
represents the Father of our spirits as throwing away 
forever the rod of correction ; and approaching his 
humble, penitent, weeping children, and with the pity- 
ing hand of parental love wiping away the tears his 
fatherly severity had caused to flow. 

To conclude, our subject and doctrine may be im- 
proved in the following manner. 

As God is recommended to be impartially good to 
the whole human family, ordering and directing all 
things for the advancement of our happiness, he is 
worthy of our unfeigned love and gratitude ; and the due 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 87 

consideration of this weighty truth imposes on us all 
the great and rational duty of conforming our minds, 
affections and conduct to this benevolent doctrine. 
Though the opposers of this grace of universal salvation 
have so far misunderstood the subject, as to represent 
it tending to licentiousness, we are fully convinced as 
that no other doctrine is a safe foundation on which to 
build a moral character, or by which we can become con- 
formed to the religion of Jesus, which embraces love 
to our enemies. It seems as vain as it is absurd to at- 
tempt to cultivate universal love and good will towards 
mankind by enforcing on the mind partial and limited 
views of the goodness of God. But having this divine 
and glorious foundation firmly fixed in our under- 
standings, let us remember with proper caution, that 
" the grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men 
hath appeared, teaching us, that denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and right- 
eously, and godly, in this present world." 

As the rich provisions of the gospel of everlasting 
life are made for all people, as all are most tenderly 
and cordially invited to partake of the blessed frnit of 
the tree of life, let us all strive in earnest to under- 
stand and know the truth as it is in Jesus. Let us 
feast on the divine truth revealed in the faithful word. 
Why should reasonable creatures, blessed with such 
powers of investigation, and capable of enjoying such 
intellectual dainties, lie supinely and feed on wind, on 
vanity, on lies, and roll falsehood and the gall of error 
and superstition as a sweet morsel under their tongues ? 
Come away from all the partial schemes of the wis- 
dom of this world, leave behind you all the broken 
cisterns hewn out by man's invention, which can hold 
no water, and come to the fountain of living waters. 
Have you endeavoured to satisfy your souls with the 
polluted bread of a heaven where you must look down 
and see your fellow creatures in endless torments ? 
Where you must hear the ceaseless groans of fathers, 
mothers, wives, children and other dear relatives ? 
Have you strove to conform yourselves to these a 
bominations? O hear the language of our text 



88 

and let your hearts rejoice in the God of our salva- 
tion. " In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts 
make unto all people a feast of fat things, of wines 
on the lees, of fat things, full of marrow, of wines on 
the lees, well refined. And he will destroy in this 
mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, 
and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will 
swallow up death in victory ; and the Lord God will 
wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of 
his people shall he take away from off all the earth ; 
for the Lord hath spoken it." 



LECTURE VII. 



THE BURNING UP OF THE PROUD AND OF ALL THAT 
DO WICKEDLY. 

MALACHI, iv. 1. 

For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud 
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh 
shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither 
root nor branch. 

This portion of prophetic testimony having been 
generally used to support the awful, terrific doctrine of 
future endless misery, and being now brought as an 
objection to a belief in the divine goodness to all men 
is the occasion of the request which has called our at- 
tention to this subject at this time. 

As we have consented to discuss this text in this 
evening's discourse, a hope is entertained that the au- 
dience will feel such an interest in the investigation as 
will occasion a most devout and religious attention. 
If the Holy Ghost, by these words, intended to inform 
us that it is the divine determination not to humble 
the proud nor reform those who do wickedly, but to 
execute upon them endless torture, no doubt it is ne- 
cessary for us so to understand these and other words 
of divine inspiration ; but if these words were designed 
to indicate the reduction of the proud to humility, and 
the reformation of those who do wickedly, it is of im- 
portance that we so understand them. Let us, there- 
fore, carefully examine the text under consideration to 
see if its most natural meaning is, that all the proud 
and all that do wickedly are to be tormented eternally 
in a fire that shall burn as an oven. If we find that 
this is the true meaning of this passage, we must ad- 
mit it as evidence of the truth of the terrific doctrine 
to which it is usually applied, and as a refutation of the 
8* 



90 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

doctrine of universal salvation by Jesus Christ. Fur- 
thermore, if the common use of this text be admitted, 
we must reasonably suppose, that this doctrine is the 
doctrine of the holy scriptures generally. 

Let us look at the text. " For, behold, the day 
cometh that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, 
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble : and 
the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the 
Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor 
branch." If this language is to be understood accord- 
ing to its most literal sense it means that all the proud, 
yea, and all that do wickedly shall be burnt up as stub- 
ble is consumed that is burned in an oven. There 
will remain of the proud and the wicked neither root 
nor branch. To use a simile, we will suppose that 
it is said of a tree, that the fire has consumed it, root 
and branch ; would any reasonable person understand 
that the tree now exists ? No they would not. Now 
if the tree do not exist, it surely does not continue to 
burn. The conclusion then is this ; if the proud and 
those who do wickedly are literally burnt up, they will 
cease to exist, and of course, they will cease to be tor- 
mented. It would be just as reasonable to contend, 
that John Rogers is now burning in the fire that, con- 
sumed him, as to apply our text to prove the endless 
torments of the wicked. 

We may ask why stubble should be used to repre- 
sent the proud and them who do wickedly ? Stubble 
is extremely combustible, it is consumed and gone al- 
most as soon as it is set on fire. It therefore shows 
that the proud and them w r ho do wickedly will continue 
to burn but a short time, and this idea is fully express- 
ed in the conclusion of our text ; " it shall leave them 
neither root nor branch." The Holy Ghost, by the 
mouth of David, has said, as recorded in the 37th 
Psalm ; " For yet a little while and the wicked shall 
not be : yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, 
and it shall not be." According to this divine predic- 
tion the wicked will not exist but a little while and 
of course cannot suffer but a little while ; for they sure- 
ly cannot suffer any longer than they exist. We read 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 91 

in the 10th of Proverbs as follows, "As the whirlwind 
passeth, so is the wicked no more ; but the righteous 
is an everlasting foundation." 

Not only does the text under consideration fully dis- 
prove the idea to which it is usually applied, but the sev- 
eral passages already quoted equally disprove it. To 
their united testimony we may add what candid, unpre- 
judiced reason seems to suggest on the same subject. 

It is granted by all who profess to believe in a Su- 
preme Being, that he is a- Being of infinite goodness. 
Now we know that it is not the nature of goodness to 
harm any creature, but to do good to all. From these 
plain self-evident facts we infer, that God will never 
administer any kind of affliction to any of his creatures, 
which is not designed for their benefit. If a creature 
be in a state of keen distress, from which there is no 
hope of recovery, to put an end to this creature's ex- 
istence is a favor. That very fond and compassionate 
love, which renders the parent solicitous for the child's 
recovery from ptiin and sickness, and impels to every 
possible exertion which promises the least relief, will, 
the moment all hope is gone, seek repose in the disso- 
lution of nature. — Were it proposed to a kind parent, 
whose tender offspring is struggling with the distress 
of a most painful complaint, that though the child 
could not be cured, it might be preserved in its present 
situation to old age, would this be chosen rather than 
that these pains should subside in the peaceful sleep 
of death ? The evident fact is, that goodness is never 
willing to prolong pain and distress unless it is seen 
how this may prove beneficial to the subject. It there- 
fore belongs to those who contend for the doctrine of 
endless punishment, to cast in their minds whether 
they can justify themselves in giving to the Father of 
our spirits a character, which for cruelty infinitely ex- 
ceeds that of the most unfeeling tyrant which has ever 
oppressed mankind. 

The faithful word of divine inspiration, as recorded 
in the 57th chapter of Isaiah informs us that God " will 
not contend forever, neither will he be always wroth : 
r or the spirit should fail before him, and the souls 



92 

which he has made." And by the same divine author 
ity we have it recorded in the 3d chapter of the Lam- 
entations, that the " Lord will not cast off forever : 
but though he cause grief, yet will he have compas- 
sion according to the multitude of his mercies. For 
he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of 
men." 

While these last quoted passages prove, beyond all 
contradiction, that God will not punish his creatures 
with an endless punishment, they as fully show that 
the design of punishment is not to annihilate the soul 
that God has made. The reason which God renders 
in the passage quoted from Isaiah, why he will not 
contend forever nor be always wroth is because the 
spirit would fail before him, and the soul which he has 
made. 

We may now consider the following important 
question, (viz.) How is it possible that all the proud 
yea, and all that do wickedly should be burnt up root 
and branch, and yet be saved in the ITord Jesus with 
an everlasting salvation ? And furthermore, how can 
the wicked be saved by the grace of God, if the words 
spoken by David be true, where he says, as before 
quoted ; " For yet a little while and the wicked shall 
not be ?" If the wicked are not allowed to exist, how 
can they be saved? 

Reply : Here we think is a proper place to bring in 
the scripture doctrine of regeneration or new birth, 
not with a design to treat it by way of explaining it, 
but by application. Jesus said to the Jews ; " Ye are 
of your father the devil, and the lust of your father 
ye will do." — Now suppose any of these Jews were 
converted by the spirit of truth after our Saviour's as- 
cension to glory, they thereby became the children of 
God. If so, they were no longer the children of the 
devil. If any of the children of the devil can by re- 
generating grace, become the children of God, then 
by the same grace all the children of the devil may 
become the children of God. Suppose this should ev- 
er be accomplished would not the predictions of the 
Prophets be fulfilled ? Where are the wicked ? There 
are none — Where is his place ? As there are none 



BALLOU ? S LECTURES. 93 

wicked so there is no place for the wicked. Where is 
the stubble ? the fire has passed over it — there is no 
stubble. — Look carefully, see if the root be not left — 
the root is all consumed. — Are the branches spared ? 
There is neither root nor branch left. 

Now turn your eyes and behold the innumerable 
multitude of all nations on mount Zion. From whence 
came they ? These are they who came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes and made 
them white in the blood of the lamb. They have been 
translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the 
kingdom of God's dear Son. 

The hearers will now ask if we are to explain the 
text under consideration in this way ? Is it in reality 
a fact that this text which has been so often quoted to 
terrify us with the apprehensions of never ending burn- 
ings, does, in reality, mean the purification of all who 
do wickedly, and the total destruction of wicked- 
ness? 

Reply : As we have already proved, that the text 
can neither be applied to the endless duration of pun- 
ishment, nor yet to the annihilation of the proud and 
them that do wickedly, we may now proceed to in- 
quire for its true application, by bringing it into con- 
nexion with other passages in particular where similar 
language is used, and with those generally which ex- 
press the design and will of God concerning sinners. 
By a careful attention to this method, we shall be like- 
ly to avoid any application that would be in opposition 
to the revealed testimony. 

" For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an 
oven." What day is this ? A little before in the pre- 
ceding chapter, the Prophet uses the following words ; 
" Behold I will send my messenger and he shall pre- 
pare the way before me ; and the Lord, whom ye seek, 
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messen- 
ger of the covenant, whom ye delight in ; behold he 
shall come saith the Lord of hosts. But who may 
abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand 
when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and 
like fuller's soap. And he shall set as a refiner and 



94 

purifier of silver ; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, 
and purge them as gold and silver, "that they may of- 
fer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." 

The messenger here promised, who should prepare 
the way before the Lord, we find in John the baptist, 
accordingly as we read Luke 1st, " And thou, child, 
shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou 
shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his 
ways." Compare also, Isaiah 40th, 3d, with Luke 3d 
4th. By bringing these scriptures together we learn, 
that the day spoken of in this 3d chapter of Malachi 
was the time of the coming of Christ who is called the 
messenger of the covenant, who should be as a refiner's 
fire and like fuller's soap. There is no doubt then but 
this scripture was a prophecy of the gospel day, and of 
its refining and purifying mankind. 

We shall in the next place prove that the day spo- 
ken of in our text is the same day of which mention is 
made in the preceding chapter, which we have shown 
to be the gospel day. Following our text the Prophet 
goes on to describe what shall take place on this day 
that shall burn as an oven, &c. but before he closes 
the subject he says ; " Behold, I will send you Elijah 
the Prophet before the coming of the great and dread- 
ful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of 
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the chil- 
dren to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth 
with a curse." The hearer will observe that he who 
is called Elijah in the Old Testament is called Elias in 
the New. Speaking of John, Jesus says, as recorded 
Matt. 11 ; " For trys is he of whom it is written, be- 
hold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall 
prepare thy way before thee. — And if ye will receive 
it, this is Elias which was for to come." Thus as evi- 
dently as we can prove any thing from the scriptures, 
we prove that the day that is mentioned five or six 
times in these two chapters .is the gospel day. 

The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this burning day in his 
9th chapter as follows ; " For every battle of the war- 
rior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in 
blood, but this shall be with burning and full of fire. 



95 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and 
the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his 
name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, the migh- 
ty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace. 
Of the increase of his government and peace there 
shall be no end."* 

As it is granted by all that this prophecy alludes to 
Christ and to the peace which he has made by the 
blood of his cross, it may be proper to ask whether it 
be not reasonable to conclude that this burning is the 
same as mentioned in our text, and this fuel of fire the 
same as stubble in our text ? If what is so reasonable 
be allowed, it seems perfectly safe to allow, that the 
true meaning of the passage under discussion, is the 
purifying of the wicked " by the spirit of judgment and 
the spirit of burning." 

The fire which distinguishes the day and work of 
the great sanctifier of sinners is described by John the 
forerunner of Jesus, in Matt. 3, "I indeed baptize you 
with water unto repentance ; but he that cometh after 
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to 
bear ; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and 
with fire ; whose fan is in his hands, and he will thor- 
oughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into his 
garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquench- 
able fire." Thus the true spiritual baptism of Jesus is 
with the Holy Ghost and with fire ; and with the fire 
with which he baptizes, he burns up the chaff. 

In 1st Corinthians, 3d. St. Paul has a passage which 
is remarkably similar to the one we are investigating ; 
it reads thus ; " Now if any man build upon this foun- 
dation, gold, silver, precious stones, w T ood, hay, stub- 
ble ; every man's work shall be made manifest : for 
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by 
fire ; and the fire shall try every man's work of what 
sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath 
.built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any 
man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss : but he 
himself shall be saved ; yet so as by fire." In this 
passage wicked works are called stubble"; these works 
are to be burnt up, and the wicked saved ; yet so as 



96 

by fire. Now if we allow scripture to explain scrip- 
ture, we may be satisfied of the true meaning of our 
text. " All the proud, and all them that do wickedly" 
must pass the fire of the day of the Lord. In the 
character of the proud and the wicked they must be 
destroyed root and branch, and be translated into the 
kingdom of God's dear Son. 

We may now proceed to show, that this sense of 
the passage under consideration is agreeable to the 
scripture testimony generally in respect to God's will 
and revealed purpose concerning sinners. 

In St. Paul's 1st epistle to Timothy he exhorts him 
to pray and give thanks for all men, and as a reason 
for so doing, he says; " For this is good and axcepta- 
ble in the sight of God our Saviour ; who will have all 
men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of 
the truth." In his epistle to the Ephesians, the same 
author says ; " Wherein he hath abounded toward us 
in all wisdom and prudence ; having made knovvn unto 
us the mystery of his will, according to his good plea- 
sure, which he hath purposed in himself: that in the 
dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather to- 
gether in one all things in Christ, both which are in 
heaven and which are on earth ; even in him," Ac- 
cording to these passages it is the will of God that all 
men should be saved, should be gathered together in 
Christ. And Jesus himself says ; " I came down from 
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him 
that sent me." If God will the salvation of all men, 
and Jesus came to do his Father's will it is evident 
that he came to save all men. Again the Saviour 
says ; "For God sent not his son into the world to 
condemn the world ; but that the world through him 
might be saved.'.' The forerunner of Jesus says of 
him ; " Behold the lamb of God that taketh away the 
sin of the world." When the religious people of the 
Jews found fault with Christ because he was a friend to 
publicans and sinners, he informed them that he came 
to call sinners to repentance, and to seek and to save 
that which was lost. In a word, the ministry of the 
gospel is a ministry of reconciliation, and testifies " that 






God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to him- 
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them. 

Not only does the testimony of Jesus, which we 
have quoted, prove that sinners are the objects of 
God's love and the subjects of gospel salvation, but St. 
Paul reasons to the same point : in his epistle to the 
Romans he says : " But God com mend eth his love to- 
ward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ 
died for us." To the Ephesians he says ; " But God, 
who is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he 
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quick- 
ened us together with Christ." Nothing is more obvi- 
ous than that it wa's the gracious design of the coming 
of Christ, and the introduction of the gospel dispensa- 
tion, to save sinners from their sins, purify them by the 
spirit of grace, and reconcile them to God. But how 
entirely repugnant, to all this is the opinion to which 
our text is usually applied. In room of humbling the 
proud, and bringing sinners to repentance, it is be- 
lieved that God will exercise unmerciful wrath on his 
erring offspring to all eternity. Though the text car- 
ries not the least intimation of any such thing in it, 
yet so fixed is this notion, by the force of tradition 
that it seems almost as hard to dissuade people from 
it, as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a nee- 
dle. 

That we may understand the ways of God with the 
proud and them who do wickedly, it may be proper to 
notice some instances which are recorded for our in- 
struction. — That of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon 
will not be considered unappropriate. Great was the 
pride of this prince and great was his wickedness. 
Notwithstanding God had warned him in a dream 
which Daniel the Prophet expounded to him, and not- 
withstanding the Prophet most affectionately counsel- 
led him to break off his sins by righteousness, and his 
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor ! yet such was 
the pride of his wicked heart, that it seems he gave no 
heed to these kind and seasonable monitions, " but at 
the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of 
the kingdom of Babvlon. The king spoke, and said 
9 



98 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house 
of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for 
the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the 
king's mouth there fell a voice from heaven saying, O 
king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken ; the king- 
dom is departed from thee ; and they shall drive thee 
from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of 
the field : they shall make thee to eat grass like oxen, 
and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know 
that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and 
giveth it to whomsoever he will." All this God ac- 
complished on this proud monarch, until his body was 
wet with the dew of heaven, his hairs were grown like 
eagle's feathers, and his nails like birds claws." This 
humbled his heart, returned to him his understanding, 
raised his eyes to heaven, and this is his confession ; 
" Now I, Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honor 
the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and 
his ways judgment ; and those that walk in pride he is 
able to abase." Was every child of Adam a Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and every heart as proud as his, how easy 
would it be for infinite wisdom, power, and goodness 
to humble them all to a due sense of their dependence 
on God. Such as was the result of God's dealings 
with this haughty prince, we may reasonably suppose 
will be the result of his chastising providence on " all 
the proud and all them that do wickedly" for " those 
that walk in pride he is able to abase." 

Though the means which our heavenly Father may 
use with his disobedient offspring may vary, we have 
no reason to believe that his designs are partial, we 
have no evidence to support the notion that he will 
humble some and grant them mercy, but punish oth- 
ers eternally. 

Another particular instance of God's dealings with 
one who did extremely wickedly is the case of David 
king of Israel. The crimes which this monarch com- 
mitted being pointed out to him in the faintest simile 
which their nature would admit, he adjudged the crim- 
inal to death — But what were the dealings of God to- 
ward him? He was visited with such awful calamities 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 99 

in his family as were as much worse than death, as his 
crimes were more heinous than the one represented to 
him by the prophet Nathan, for which he said, the 
man that hath done this shall surely die. But was Da- 
vid finally rejected from the favor of God ? — No, for 
he sang " of mercy and of judgment," and praised God 
whom he acknowledged to be his salvation. 

It surely will not be contended, that the divine Be- 
ing pays any peculiar respect to kings, by dealing with 
their crimes in a more lenient manner, than he does 
with the crimes of others. It should be allowed that 
the higher a man's station is in society the greater 
his criminality if he use his power contrary to his 
duty. 

If then, the king of Israel could be punished here in 
this life, according to the offence which he had com- 
mitted, and if he were duly humbled and received in- 
to favor, have the wicked now any reason to expect 
to escape the righteous judgments of God ? And have 
the religious any reason to say, that God will never 
humble the wicked and receive them all to mercy? 
Was every child of Adam a murderous David, and 
had sins as great as his, stained every soul : Yet would 
every humble, penitent believer in Jesus say, " Behold 
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the 
world." 

It is allowed, if there be some more stiff-necked 
than others, and harder to be brought into humiliation, 
we may not yet have mentioned them ; but we shall 
find them in the case of the pharisee. He, who by 
the mighty power of grace was converted from a spir- 
itually proud, and persecuting pharisee, to a humble, 
meek disciple of Jesus, whom he had persecuted, is 
such a trophy of divine mercy, we now hold him up 
before you all as an example of God's dealings with 
all the proud and all them which do wickedly." What 
does St. Paul say of himself? " This is a faithful say- 
ing, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 
Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me 
first Tesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering 



100 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

for a pattern for them which should hereafter believe 
on him to life everlasting." Was every son and 
daughter of human nature a persecuting Saul, yet there 
would be hope that they might all be brought to say, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? — But when it 
pleased him who separated me from my mother's womb 
and called me by his grace, to reveal his son in me, 
immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." 

Is it necessary to name a fourth particular instance, 
and shall it be selected from among the erring daugh- 
ters of Eve ? Consider then the case of Mary Magda- 
lene out of whom the bruiser of the serpent's head 
cast seven devils. Was every man, woman and child 
in the world as possessed as was this woman, who was 
a sinner, yet might the grace of the Redeemer bring 
them all to wash his feet with the tears of penitence, 
and annoint him with the precious ointment of much 
love and humble gratitude. 

A hope is entertained that the hearer will not be 
disposed to say, if all this be true we may indulge in 
every sin and abomination. Of the whole seven that 
were cast out, this arguhient is the worst. This is in- 
gratitude the basest of all the serpent tribe. 

Did the king of Babylon find by experience that be- 
cause God was able to abase those who walk in pride, 
it was therefore as well to walk in pride as to be hum 
ble ? Did David find by experience, that sin against 
God and his fellow creatures was attended with no 
evil ? Must sin be rolled as a sweet morsel under the 
tongue ? Must a guilty conscience be esteemed as a 
friend that sticketh closer than a brother ? Our argu- 
ment to prove the doctrine of the impartial goodness of 
God towards all men, does in no sense deny his divine 
severity toward the wicked. 

By understanding our text in the way we have ex- 
plained it, we discover its harmony with other passa- 
ges where similar language is used ; we also see its 
agreement with the united testimony of scripture re- 
specting the divine will and purpose concerning the 
reconciliation and salvation of sinners. 

But in the common way of understanding this pas- 






BALLOU'S LECTURES. 101 

5, it is made to contradict the whole scheme of the 
gospel, and to represent every subject of divine grace 
as an object of never ending wrath. — Such absurdities 
are constantly reiterated from our pulpits, and in al- 
most all sermons the glaring contradiction is urged on 
the hearers, that sinners, are the objects of divine love, 
and eternal vengeance ; that Jesus came into our 
world for the express purpose of saving sinners, and 
that sinners must be endlessly miserable. There can 
be no wonder that the common people are getting to 
be weary of such preaching, nor is there any just rea- 
son of complaint if attempts are making to effect a re- 
formation. 

Not only is it our duty to endeavor to explain par- 
ticular passages in a way to bring them into the ge- 
neral theme of the scriptures, but due attention 
should be paid to understand the scriptures in a way 
to agree with the disposition and conduct which the 
religion of Jesus Christ requires. Suppose then, that 
we adopt the common opinion of our text, and con- 
tend that the Holy Ghost moved the Prophet to set 
forth the endless misery of " all the proud and all them 
that do wickedly," in the language of this passage, 
will it then be easy to reconcile this with the disposi- 
tion which our religion requires us to exercise toward 
our enemies, and with our duty to mankind ? Can we 
see the propriety of loving those who we believe are 
the objects of the unmerciful vengeance of our Creator 
of praying for those who we believe are predestinated 
to endless suffering? 

But if we understand our text and the scriptures in 
general to teach the doctrine of reconciliation, and to 
support the joy inspiring belief that he, who gave him- 
self a ransom for all men, will finally see of the travail • 
of his soul and be satisfied ; that he who sets a refiner 
and purifier of silver, will eventually purify the wicked 
from all sin, humble the proud, and give all to know 
the Lord, whom to know is life eternal, it seems that 
the christian duty of loving all men, doing good to all 
men, and praying for all men is perfectly consistent' 
with such a belief. 
9* 



102 BALLOU ? S LECTURES. 

There is another particular rule according to which 
particular passages, and indeed the scriptures in gen- 
eral should be explained ; that is, the knowledge of 
the truth gives joy to the heart. St. Paul informs us, 
that *'' charity rejoiceth in the truth." It is then an 
evidence that we rightly understand the scripture, if 
the love of God shed abroad in the heart can rejoice in 
the sentiment. This christian audience is now affec- 
tionately called on to try the sentiment usually sup- 
ported by the text under consideration, by the rule last 
suggested. If you can truly say that you sincerely 
love all mankind, that you entertain that charity for all 
which suffereth long and is kind, can you say that you 
rejoice in the belief, that millions of your fellow crea- 
tures are predestinated to endless sufferings ? This 
you all acknowledge is impossible. How then can 
God, who is love itself, ordain a dispensation of sever- 
ity, the design of which is to perpetuate the sufferings 
of his own offspring as long as he shall exist? 

My bretheren, " there is peace in believing and joy 
in the Holy Ghost." But is there any peace or joy in 
believing in this doctrine of never-ending misery? 
There surely is not. But if we really believe in the 
divine testimony, which plainly shows that it is the 
plan of God, manifested in Christ Jesus, to finish sin 
and to make an end of transgressions, to take away 
our sins, to reconcile ihe world to himself; and that 
all his judgments and his mercies are wisely directed 
to effect this blessed object, we can " rejoice with joy 
unspeakable, and full of glory." But while we rejoice 
in the consoling belief, that all the judgments of God 
will finally eventuate in the reduction of " all the proud 
and all them that do wickedly" to obedience, let us be 
wise for ourselves, and adorn the doctrine of God our 
Saviour, by doing justly, loving mercy and walking 
1 -mbly before God. 



LECTURE VIII. 

THE STORY OF JOSEPH, AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE HIS- 
TORY of Christ's kingdom. 

DEUTERONOMY, xxxiii, 16, 17. 

Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the 
head of him that was separated from his brethren. Kis glory is like the 
firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with 
them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are 
the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. 

The events which the divine historian has recorded, 
respecting Joseph the son of the patriarch Jacob, form 
a subject remarkably instructing to every attentive ob- 
server. 

The treatment he received from his brethren was of 
such a peculiar cast, that Moses the prophet of the 
Lord, more than four hundred years afterward, in the 
blessing pronounced on his family, makes the honora- 
ble mention of his being separated from his brethren 
which we find in our text. 

This memorable separation, the causes which occa- 
sioned it, the circumstances which attended it ; the 
wisdom and goodness of God manifested by it and the 
rich blessings which finally came on him in conse- 
quence of his having been separated from his brethren, 
will form matter for the first general section of the 
present discourse. 

Moved with envy, Joseph's brethren sold him to the 
Ishmaelites, who were going from Gilead with spies 
into Egypt, where Joseph was again sold for a bond 
slave. The causes which seemed to occasion this 
deadly envy were the following. Joseph was the son 
of his fathers old age, and until about the time of his 
being sold, the only child of the beloved Rachael. It 
seems rather difficult to determine whether Benjamin 



104 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

was born, or not at this time. The faithful historian 
informs us, that " Israel loved Joseph more than all his 
children, because he was the son of his old age." By 
this it would rather seem that Benjamin was not born, 
for he was more especially the son of Jacob's old age 
than Joseph. But the scripture chronology supposes 
that Benjamin was born, and of course, that Rachael 
died in the one thousand seven hundred and twenty 
ninth year before Christ, and that Joseph was sold the 
same year. Such is the nature of partiality, it seldom 
avoids being seen. It was so visible in Jacob's con- 
duct, that it created an unhappy jealousy in the minds 
of the rest of the family, so that they " hated Joseph, 
and could not speak peaceably unto him." 

Nor was this parental partiality the only occasion of 
that cruel envy which moved Joseph's brethren against 
him ; for we are informed that heaven inspired him 
with two remarkable dreams, which evidently suggest- 
ed the idea of his future superiority over them, and 
their bowing down to him as a superior. An envious 
mind is always in the dark. Had these brethren been 
wise, they would have seen no occasion to be angry at 
their brother. If their father was imprudent enough to 
indulge an improper partiality in favor of the son of 
his old age, it was far from right to hate the son for 
the fault of the father. If they supposed the dreams 
which their brother toH were not divinely dictated, 
but were either the fruits of vain imaginations, or only 
contrived up in order to deceive, they might have sa- 
ved themselves any trouble by being content to wait 
with patience until time should show the folly of all 
such vain attempts or imaginations. — But their hearts 
were not right ; they therefore took the wrong way, 
the broad road that leads to destruction. 

Full of burning, envy and indignation these breth- 
ren left the family circle, the sacred tent of venerable 
Israel, in the vale of Hebron, and went to feed their 
father's flock at Shechem. 

Notwithstanding Jacob felt a partiality for Joseph, 
he was by no means unmindful of his other children 
He felt a solicitous concern for the welfare of his ab 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 105 

sent sons, and proposed to Joseph that he should go 
to Shechem to inquire for his brethren's health and 
prosperity. The tender unsuspicious youth was as 
ready to obey as the father was to command. With- 
out the least hesitation or suspicion he sat off on this 
errand of love. Little did the venerable patriarch 
think what treatment awaited the darling of his heart ; 
little did he then think of the sorrows which were to 
overwhelm his soul. Little did the tender child antici- 
pate the cruel sufferings which were to reward his fil- 
ial obedience and fraternal affection. Little did he 
think, when he parted with his father in the lovely vale 
of Hebron, that he should see him no more till he 
should embrace him in a strange land, where he should 
be a father to his father, and the lord and support of 
his brethren. 

When he came to Shechem he was informed that 
his brethren had removed to Dothan where he immedi- 
ately repaired and found them. But here* in room of 
meeting the friendly eye and the affectionate smile, 
and being kindly welcomed to peaceful tents of hum- 
ble shepherds, he beholds the eye of anger kindled with 
envy, the clouded brow of wrath foreboding an awful 
storm, the dread image of hate drawn in each visage. 
In vain does he turn his innocent eye from one to an- 
other in search of a kind protector. He is violently 
seized, stripped of his coat of many colors and cast in- 
to a pit that was in the wilderness. This done these 
unnatural brethren sat down to eat bread. 

Here we may observe the wisdom and goodness of 
God in making use of one sinful passion to control an- 
other so as to cause the wrath of man to praise him, 
and to restrain the remainder. Divine providence so 
ordered, that at this hour the travelling merchants from 
Gilead arrived at this place, which suggested the "idea 
of selling Joseph. These murderous brethren had 
formed the determination, in the first place, to take 
his life outright ; but Reuben wishing to deliver him 
out of their hands proposed to cast him into the pit, 
where their determination was to let him die. But 
now avarice gains so much on anger, as by promising 



106 * BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

to rid them forever of their fear of becoming at all de- 
pendent on Joseph, that they consent to sell him for 
twenty pieces of silver. To attempt to describe the 
feelings of Joseph on this trying occasion would be in 
vain. Poor solitary youth, not an earthly friend in the 
wide world that could extend to him the arm of deliv- 
erance, or even speak one consoling word. ; ' Separa- 
ted from his brethren he now moves along with his un- 
feeling masters, but with what reluctant steps. No 
doubt he casts a lingering eye of compassion on his 
persecutors, and how hard was the thought that he 
should see them no more. With what painful reflec- 
tions did his thoughts return to the parental tent in the 
lovely vale of Hebron, how did his bosom swell with 
grief when the pangs of everlasting adieu to the sa- 
cred circle of home, country and liberty pierced his 
tortured soul ? But with his brethren were very dif- 
ferent reflections. They had fortunately sold their fears 
for twenty pieces of silver. As the object of their en- 
vy receded from their sight, they sought repose in a 
refuge of lies and deceit. They now felt secure from 
the humiliating thought of ever bowing down to their 
brother or of seeing their father's fondness exercised over 
the child of his old age. They now rend the coat of 
many colors, dip it in blood and carry it to their fath- 
er. He knows the garment, and exclaims ; " it is my 
son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured him ; Joseph 
is without doubt rent in pieces." He mourns the un- 
timely death of his son, determined to refuse all com- 
fort, and to go down to the grave to his son mourn- 
ing. 

Let us now notice the remarkable instances of the 
wisdom and goodness of God manifested in all this sin- 
ful, djsasterous conduct of the cruel sons of Israel, and 
in the partiality of the over fond father. 

According to rational calculation, we may suppose, 
that if the father of this family had preserved an impar- 
tial regard for his children, it would have been the 
means of lengthening its tranquility. If Joseph had 
not dreamed and told the dreams which served to kin- 
dle the fire of envy in his brethren's hearts, it seems 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 107 

reasonable to suppose that they might all have lived 
harmoniously and in peace. But how evident it is 
that God overruled all these circumstances and events 
for the good of all concerned. How evident it is that 
the divine wisdom had the directing of all these affairs. 
Joseph is now safe in Egypt the country of his future 
glory, excellency and usefulness, but a bond slave, a 
menial servant. Who could believe that this degra- 
ded condition lay on his road to fame ? But now con- 
sider him accused by his mistress of an infamous crime, 
consider him cast into prison. Here again the crim- 
inality and deceit of his accuser is all controled by 
heaven for the honor of God, the good of millions, 
the exaltation of the innocent sufferer and the celebra- 
tion of ages. 

Into the same prison where Joseph was bound, the 
king cast his chief butler and chief baker, whose 
dreams Joseph interpreted agreeably to the final ver- 
dict of his majesty. But the chief butler, contrary to 
the request of injured Joseph, was so elated with be- 
ing again restored to favor and office, that he forgot 
the young prisoner who for two full years more lay in 
the prison, until the dreams of Pharaoh brought him 
to the butler's recollection. It was about fourteen 
years from the time Joseph left the sweet and tranquil 
habitation of his beloved father to the time he was 
brought out of prison in Egypt, to stand before 
his majesty the king, to interpret those remarkable 
dreams by which he was w T arned of seven years of 
great plenty, which should be followed with seven 
more of famine. The wisdom which appeared in this 
long afflicted Hebrew brought him into favor with 
Pharaoh, who appointed him to be over his own house 
and to rule his people according to his will. 

During the seven years of plenty Joseph used such 
prudence and economy as to lay up vast quanties of 
corn in store against the long and severe famine which 
he foresaw would visit the land. 

When the dearth came it was not confined to Egypt 
but extended over all the face of the earth, so that all 
countries were dependent on Egypt for bread. The 



108 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

famine was sore in the land of Canaan, and pale hun- 
ger began to threaten the extensive household of Ja- 
cob and his sons. Jacob therefore said to his sons ; 
" Why do you look one upon another ? I have heard 
that there is corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and 
buy for us from thence; that we may live and not 
die." They came into Egypt and into the presence 
of Joseph ; but he was so altered in the space of about 
twenty one years, or perhaps more, and as they had 
no thought of seeing him at all, and especially no ex- 
pectation of finding him the lord of all the land of 
Egypt, they did not know him. When they came be- 
fore him, " they bowed down themselves before him with 
their faces to the earth." Joseph knew his brethren ; 
they were men who had attained to years before he 
was separated from them, and had not altered so much 
but he knew them. He now saw his first dream ful- 
filled. All his brethren who were envious towards 
him, he now sees on their faces before him. He treat- 
ed them roughly, not because revenge was in his heart, 
but to try them. He retained Simeon until the rest 
should return to the relief of their families, and bring 
Benjamin down to Egypt. They then conversed 
among themselves, in the Hebrew tongue, which they 
supposed Joseph did not understand, of their sin 
against their brother, and were satisfied that they were 
visited with evil for their iniquity. Joseph understood 
all they said, and was greatly moved with compassion. 
After many trials and sore difficulties, at the second 
time, when all the sons of Israel were together, and 
Joseph had the pleasure of seeing his brother Benja- 
min, perhaps for the first time, he made himself known 
to them. He could no longer contain himself; he 
wept aloud and said unto his brethren, " I am Joseph ; 
doth my father yet live ? And his brethren could not 
answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence. 
And Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me 
I pray you : and they came near. And he said I 
am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 
Now therefore, be not grieved, nor angry with your- 
selves, that ye sold me hither ; for God did send me 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 109 

before yon to preserve life. And he fell upon his bro- 
ther Benjamin's neck, and wep-t ; and Benjamin wept 
upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren 
and wept upon them : and after that his brethren 
talked with him." 

As the hearer is familiar with the account of this 
most interesting subject, we may not be further par- 
ticular. It is recollected that the whole family came 
down to Egypt and were nursed by Joseph and sup- 
ported by his bounty. Now was his second dream ac- 
complished. 

Let us notice in this place, the words of Joseph be- 
fore recited ; " God did send me before you to pre- 
serve life." Is it not evident, my brethren, that the 
infinitely wise, powerful, and good God made use of 
the partial fondness of Jacob as a means to move Jo- 
seph's brethren against him ? Is it not evident that 
the same divine Being inspired Joseph with the two 
dreams which represented his brethren's submission to 
him, and also that, of their father and mother, for the 
purpose of bringing about the event of Joseph's being 
sold into Egypt ? Is it not clear beyond all doubt, 
that all the wickedness, envy, hard heartedness, and 
deceit of which the ten brethren were guilty was con- 
trolled by the wisdom and goodness of God in a man- 
ner to promote the highest honor of the divine name, 
and the best interest of those most perverse and wick- 
ed men ? And must it not be gratefully acknowledged, 
that all the afflictions which came on Jacob and his 
family, and the afflictions of Joseph were designed by 
our heavenly Father, for the good of all these sufferers ? 
It seems necessary to call the attention of the hearer 
to the consideration of the following questions : Does 
the argument which we here maintain give to the di- 
vine Being a good character? Is it safe to have so 
much confidence in God as to believe, that he mana- 
ges all the concerns of men in a way to promote their 
best interest? Is God so transcendantly kind as to 
turn our own faults to our advantage ? Or will you 
say, that this doctrine is not only too good to be true, 
but of dangerous tendencv, as it lays no restraint on 
10 



no 

men, but promises them good for their evil? Reply: 
Is this doctrine any better than was the conduct of 
God towards these envious brethren who sold Joseph ? 
And did not these brethren experience a most just and 
ample retribution for their sins, before thev entered into 
the enjoyment of the divine favor which was brought 
about by means of their folly ? Is not this doctrine 
exactly what the gospel holds up and requires ? Are 
we not forbidden to render evil for evil ? And are we. 
not commanded to render good* for evil ? "Be not 
overcome of evil ; but overcome evil with good." The 
blessing that came on Joseph seems to have been, in 
all respects, what his sufferings seemed to deserve, as 
ample as his love, and as extensive as his reasonable 
desires. To have it in his power to reward his breth- 
ren with all the favor which their necessities required 
for all the evil he had received at their hands, to make 
every necessary provision for his aged father and the 
whole of his numerous family, from which he had 
been so long separated, and of supplying many 
countries with bread during a famine which must have 
swept off thousands of innocent children with vast mul- 
titudes of others, had it not been for the treasures 
which were laid up by his wisdom and liberally dis- 
pensed by his goodness, seems to have been as large 
and as rich a blessing as could be desired. 

To show, by the language of our text, that Moses 
had a meaning in view, beyond what respected the 
literality of the subject, and to apply our text to Jesus, 
who was separated from his brethren, forms the second 
general section of this discourse. 

" His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and 
his horns are like the horns of unicorns : with them 
shall he push the people together to the ends of the 
earth : and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and 
they are the thousands of Manasseh." 

The firstling of cattle is similar to the first born 
among men. The first born of a family possessed, by 
birth right, a privilege over the younger, as in the case 
of Esau and Jacob. The first born seemed to have 
a power of ruling, and of having the younger branches 



Ill 

of the family in subjection. The first born was also 
considered holy unto God, as were the first fruits of the 
field ; and the holiness of the firstborn, and of the first 
fruits was the holiness of all which were represented 
by them. This part of the text, which relates to 
the firstling of the bullock, may very fitly be applied 
to Joseph as well as Jesus, who is styled the " first 
born among many brethren, the first born from the- 
dead, and the first born of every creature." 

Joseph seems to have obtained the birth right of the 
first born by a divine arrangement, whereby he became 
the governor and ruler of his numerous family, though 
it is true Joseph was literally the first born of the be- 
loved Rachel. His glory answered to his birth right, 
for we see him the ruler and kind father of his brethren. 

But why should Moses say : " his horns are as the 
horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the peo- 
ple together to the ends of the earth : and they are the 
ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands 
of Manasseh ? " By horns, no doubt power was in- 
tended. But how shall the power of Joseph push the 
people together to the ends of the earth ? And how 
is it that all people thus united are the ten thousands, 
and thousands, of the two sons of Joseph ? 

This language and these sentiments are supposed to 
apply to Jesus in the following manner. As the horns 
of unicorns are the most powerful among beasts, they 
are used to represent the power of the Saviour. And 
as it is said, " with them shall he push the people to- 
gether to the ends of the earth," it means the same as 
was expressed by Jacob concerning the Shiloh unto 
whom the gathering of the people should be ; and the 
same as expressed by Jesus himself, when he said, 
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all 
men unto me." The same is expressed by St. Paul 
to the Ephesians as follows ; " Having made known 
unto us the majesty of his will according to his good 
pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself: that in 
the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gath- 
er together in one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven, and which are on earth ; even in him " 



112 BALLOTS LECTURES. 

Jews and Gentiles thus gathered into Jesus are said 
to be the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands 
of Manasseh. The two sons of Joseph are here used 
to represent the two families, Jews and Gentiles, which 
in their fullness, are the children of the 'everlasting 
Father and Prince of peace." 

When Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, being 
blind, Joseph was careful to present Manasseh, the 
first born, to Jacob's right hand and Ephraim, the 
younger, to his left, that, the first- born might receive 
the appropriate blessing which belonged to his birth 
right ; but Jacob wittingly crossed his hands and laid 
his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left en 
the head of Manasseh. At this, Joseph endeavored 
to remove his father's hands, and informed him that 
his left hand was on the head of the first born ; to 
which he replied ; " I know it, my son, I know it ; 
he also shall become a people, and he also shall 
be great ; but truly his younger brother shall be great- 
er than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of 
nations." Thus Moses in our text, when expressing, 
the multitudes of Gentiles and Jews, in Christ Jesus, 
says : " They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and 
they are the thousands of Manasseh." The Jews 
were first reckoned the children of God, and Israel is 
called God's first born ; but the first are last and the last 
first. The Gentiles take the lead in the gospel dispen- 
sation, for not until the fullness of the Gentiles is come 
in will the deliverer come out of Zion and turn away 
ungodliness frotn Jacob. 

In considering Joseph and the things concerning him 
as applicable to Jesus and his ministry we find an ex- 
tensive field opened before us, a field fruitful as a gar- 
den, in all the most beautiful flowers of divine represen- 
tations, and in the fruits of grace. 

The visions of the holy prophets, in which they saw 
the extensive empire of the Saviour of the world, the 
subjection of all the nations of the earth to his divine 
and glorious government, seem to be represented by 
the dreams of Joseph, which served to kindle his breth- 
ren's hearts with envy. The declaration from heaven, 
which designated Jesus as the beloved Son of God in 



LECTURES. 113 

whom the Father is well pleased, seems to be repre- 
sented by Jacob's love for Joseph, — -How angry it made 
the scribes, the pharisees, the priests and the doctors of 
the law, that Jesus should pretend to be the Son of 
God. A man by no means of their standing ; why 
should he pretend to be the king of israel ? they 
were as determined not to have this man to rule 
over them as Joseph's brethren were that he should 
not rule over them. As Joseph was separated from 
his brethren, so was Jesus separated from his ; as Jo- 
seph was sold for money, so was Jesus ; as Joseph was 
the gracious saviour of the whole family of "promise, so 
is Jesus the Saviour of the whole family " of heaven 
and earth." 

My brethren, look, see the future saviour of the fam- 
ily of Israel, leaving his brethren in Dothan to go down 
to Egypt a slave, to see them no more until he sees 
them as his humble subjects, and is acknowledged 
their lord and protector ; then look again and see the 
blessed Jesus, bearing his cross, going bound to Cal- 
vary, separated from his brethren and from all the liv- 
ing, to see them not again until in a glorious resurrec- 
tion state, he appears " the Lord from heaven." 

Let us here talk freely on the grace and plan of sal- 
vation by Jesus Christ, as represented by the temporal 
salvation wrought by Joseph. Joseph was appointed 
by heaven to be the saviour of all his father's house. 
He was in fact the saviour of his brethren before they 
knew him in Egypt. He had treasured up a supply 
of bread during the seven years of plenty for thous- 
ands who were not then born. He was the saviour 
of vast multitudes, by the merciful appointment of 
heaven, who were strangers to him, and who knew him 
not. All the time before his brethren came to Egypt, 
Joseph was the appointed saviour of them and of their 
little ones. It w 7 as just as certain that they would all 
partake of the rich bounties of Joseph, even before the 
famine commenced as it was after they were all remov- 
ed into the land of Goshen. 

Now what reasonable objection can there be to the 
sentiment, that the grace of God, and the scheme of 
10* 



114 

man's spiritual salvation "is ordered in all things," 
and rendered as sure as the temporal salvation of the 
house of Israel was in the scheme which we have no- 
ticed ? 

Joseph's brethren did not believe that they, their 
wives and their little ones were all to be fed from the 
bounty of him whom they had so cruelly treated and 
sold into Egypt. But what power had their ignorance 
and unbelief to frustrate the divine plan in which their 
welfare was secured ? It is true, they could not enjoy 
a confidence in their brother until they knew him and 
were assured of his forgiveness ; but he was as truly 
their brother and friend during their ignorance and un- 
belief as he was after he had made himself known to 
them. Is it not equally true, that Jesus is the sin- 
ner's friend and Saviour as truly during the season of 
ignorance and unbelief as he is after faith is given? 

The name of Joseph in Egypt was synonymous with 
bread, it was synonymous with life ; and in no other 
name was there any confidence. All power in Egypt 
was committed into the hands of Joseph, there was no 
other name given whereby the life of the people could 
be saved. Is not all this true in spirit respecting the 
name of Jesus, is it not synonymous with Saviour? 
Is not this the bread of God which came down from 
heaven, and gave life to the world ? 

In his wise and gracious appointment, the God of 
heaven gave life to millions in Joseph before they were 
born ; "and this is the record that God hath given un- 
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." This 
life was the life of the world from the beginning. 
This was our life before we came into this world, and 
the unborn ages to come are equally entitled to all its 
blessings. 

The envy, the hatred, the deadly enmity of Joseph's 
brethren towards him, could do no more than was ne- 
cessary to promote his glory and advance him in the 
way of the divine appointment. So all the cruel en- 
vy, hatred and persecution practised on the blessed 
Jesus, by his enemies, only advanced him towards that 
glory that during eternal ages will continue to brighten 



LECTURES. 115 

and beautify the rational creation of God. As we may 
notice this subject in part in our next lecture, which 
will be on the subject of blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost, we may be brief. 

How tender are the words of Joseph to those who 
had hated him without a cause : " Come near to me I 
pray you." This is the language of the blessed Jesus 
in the Gospel of his grace. He speaks to every sin- 
ner, saying, ;; come near to me I pray you." The 
apostle says " we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye 
reconciled to God ; for he hath made him to be sin for 
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the right- 
eousness of God in him." 

As we have seen that the blessing which came upon 
the head of Joseph, was in all respects, as large and 
rich as could be desired, may we not believe with con- 
fidence, that the Redeemer will as fully " see of the 
travail of his soul and be satisfied ? " If in room of that 
most interesting account of the humble submission of 
all Joseph's enemies to him, we were informed that 
three only were ever brought to repentance, and to be 
humble before him, and also to receive of his bounty, 
could we consider his reward to be equal to what the 
present account makes it ? Would it be possible, in 
this case to see how his dreams were fulfilled ? . His 
sheaf stood upright, and all his brethren's sheaves 
made obeisance to it. The sun, and the moon, and 
the eleven stars made obeisance unto him. With less 
than the submission of all could these heaven-inspired 
dreams have fully come to pass ? With all this was 
he blessed, and blessed in the sweet enjoyment of a 
forgiving spirit, and in the victory that spirit gained over 
the affections of his brethren. Moreover, he was 
bountifully blessed in his liberal bestowments on his 
dependant brethren. — They were all blessed in him, 
but he was the most blessed of all: for "it is more 
blessed to give than to receive." Thus we believe, 
that with less than the reconciliation of all men to Je- 
sus, the faithful word of all God's holy prophets since 
the world began, who have spoken of the restitution 
of all things, can never be fulfilled. Nor can Jesus 



lift. 

see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied with less 
than the humble submission to his laws, of all who 
have ever been his enemies. We believe, and believ- 
ing we rejoice, that the kind Redeemer shall finally be 
blessed with the full enjoyment of forgiving the iniqui- 
ties of all his enemies, of feeding them at his own ta- 
ble, with the bread of everlasting life. All will be 
blessed in him ; " all nations shall call him blessed ; " 
but he shall be the most blessed of all, as it is " more 
blessed to give than to receive." 

Blessed were the people that heard tne joyful ti- 
dings, that there was corn in Egypt. How did the 
husband's heart leap for joy, that the companion of 
his bosom should not " perish with hunger ! " How 
unspeakably happy were parents made when assured 
that their children could be supplied with bread ! 
More blessed still are the " people who know the joy- 
ful sound," of the gospel of Jesus, and walk in the 
light of the Lord. Parents look, behold the shepherd 
of Israel taking your little children in his arms, and 
saying u of such is the kingdom of heaven." Said the 
risen Saviour "go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel to every creature." Yes, my friends, you 
are all welcome to the bread of life ; and 

" Christ hath sent me to invite you, 

" To a rich and costly feast. 
'* Let not shame nor pride prevent you, 

** Come, the rich pro ision taste." 



LECTURE IX 

THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLT GHOST. 

MATTHEW, xii. 31, 32. 

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be for- 
given unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be for- 
given unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, 
it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, 
it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to 
come. 

Our Saviour spake the words of our text in his re- 
ply to the Pharisees, who said of him, " this fellow 
doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince 
of the devils." 

The circumstance which led the Pharisees to speak 
as we have just noticed was the following. There was 
brought unto Jesus one possessed with a devil, blind 
and dumb : and he healed him, insomuch that the 
blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the 
people were amazed, and said, is not this the son of 
David ? That is, is not this man who cast out devils 
and works so many miracles the Messiah or Christ of 
whom the law and the prophets have spoken ? As 
the Pharisees were bitterly opposed to Jesus, this ex- 
clamation from the people gave them great uneasiness, 
for as much as the people were in favor of Jesus, so 
much they must be in opposition to the Pharisees. In 
order, therefore, to prevent the people from believing 
in Jesus, the Pharisees said that he cast out devils by 
Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. 

It seems that the miracles of Jesus were so evident, 
so open, so undisguised, that his keenest eyed enemies 
found no chance of success with the people by deny- 
ing the facts of the miracles ; they must, therefore, de- 



118 

ceive the people by some other means. In the case of 
the miracle wrought on the man that was born blind, 
they seemed to doubt the fact of his having been born 
blind ; but having called his parents and received their 
testimony, they were compelled to believe the fact , 
but they said to the man to whom sight had been giv- 
en, " give God the praise, we know that this man is a 
sinner." It was contended, that as this miracle was 
performed on the sabbath day, he who wrought it 
could not be of God. If the Pharisees could persuade 
the people that Jesus was a sinner, notwithstanding all 
the miracles which he did, they were sure that they 
would not believe that he was the Messiah promised. 
But it seems that the people had discernment enough 
to raise the question, " How can a man that is a sin- 
ner do such miracles ?" This question must receive 
some sort of an answer ; and almost any thing would 
do that superstition would countenance, for the com- 
mon people supposed that these Pharisees and learned 
doctors of the law, being godly people and of d.eep dis- 
cernment must know. When, therefore, their wisdom 
suggested that the miracles of Jesus were effected by 
the agency of the prince of the devils, it was by no 
means difficult for the people to give credit to the opin- 
ion, ior they were already fixed in the superstitious no- 
tions of devils. 

The declaration, that Jesus cast out devils by Beel- 
zebub, the prince of the devils, was a declaration di- 
rectly against the spirit and power by which the mira- 
acle was effected. In reply to this the Saviour rea- 
soned in his usual, natural, plain and energetic man- 
ner, as follows : " Every kingdom divided against it- 
self is brought to desolation : and every city or house 
divided against itself shall not stand : And if Satan 
cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how 
shall then his kingdom stand ? And if I by Beelzebub 
cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them 
out ? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I 
cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom 
of God is come unto you. Or else, how can one enter 
into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 119 

he first bind the strong man ? and then he will spoil 
his house. He that is not with me, is against me ; and 
he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad." 
Then follow the words of our text, which, when con- 
sidered in the connexion in which they are found, 
plainly indicate that the Pharisees, who said that Jesus 
cast out devils, by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, 
did, in so saying, speak blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost. 

We shall now proceed to inquire why this sin or 
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, by which the mir- 
acles of Jesus were wrought could not as easily be for- 
given as any other sin or blasphemy. It is generally 
contended that this sin against the Holy Ghost cannot 
be forgiven because it is so much more heinous than 
all other sins ; but because this is the general opinion 
it is no proper evidence of its being true. Has it ever 
been proved that this blasphemy is more heinous than 
other sins ! The speaker feels solicitous that the hear- 
er may be disposed, on this subject, to admit, of noth- 
ing without proof. We are not only at liberty to re- 
ject all ideas which have been established by tradition 
without proper evidence, but it is our religious duty so 
to do. Let it then be proved that this sin against the 
Holy Ghost could not be forgiven the Pharisees as ea- 
sily as any other sin that they committed, because this 
sin was more heinous than any other, and then we will 
believe it ; but not before. But it is contended that 
this sin is certainly greater than any other, because it 
is committed against greater light. Here again we call 
for proof. Are we informed in the scripture, that this 
sin is committed against greater light than any other ? 
No, we have no such information. It is granted, that 
learned divines, so called, have made very nice calcu- 
lations respecting the degrees of divine light and knowl- 
edge which were required in order to enable a person 
to commit this sin ; but then we must be just enough 
to these pious doctors to allow them the whole of the 
credit due to such profound researches, for they alone 
are entitled to it ; they have had no help from divine 
revelation. On the other hand it is our duty to re- 



120 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ceive nothing which they have said on this subject as 
the least evidence in the case. Let us took at 
the subject candidly. The Pharisees spake against 
Jesus, and said, " we know that this man is a sinner." 
— Again, they spake against the spirit by which he 
wrought miracles, and said : " this fellow doth not 
cast out devils but by Beelzebub, the prince of the 
devils." Now have we any evidence to believe that 
these Pharisees had any more light or divine knowl- 
edge when they spake the latter sentence, than when 
they spake the former? No, we have no such intima- 
tion. Why then, you will ask, might not this sin be 
forgiven as easily or as soon as other sins ? We still 
continue to reply negatively and say, not because this 
sin is greater or more heinous than other sins ; we 
have a right to say, because the divine word gives no 
authority to the contrary. Furthermore, if the divine 
forgiveness flow from the infinite fulness of grace in 
God, the supposition that some sins are so small that 
they can be forgiven, but that others are so great that 
they cannot be forgiven, is a flagrant violation of rea- 
son. If some sins are small and others large as they 
compare together, it is plain that the small cannot be 
infinitely great, and it follows of course that the largest 
cannot be infinite if the small bear any proportion to 
them. Now if all sin be of the finite character of the 
mortal sinner, is it not absurd to pretend that some 
sins are too great for the infinite goodness of God to 
forgive ? The scripture is plain on this subject. See 
Isaiah, i. 18. "Come now, and let us reason together, 
saith the Lord : Though your sins be as scarlet, they 
shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like 
crimson, they shall be as wool." The most natural 
sense of this text is, that though the sin of the people 
were of the deepest dye, they might be washed away. 
How then is it proper to explain our text in a way to 
contradict this evident testimony ? The forerunner of 
Jesus said of him ; " Behold the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sin of the world." Here is no excep- 
tion, no reserve. The beloved disciple says ; " If we 
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 



121 

our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. — 
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all 
sin." In these passages there is mention made of the 
sin of the world, of all sin and of all unrighteousness, 
and the power of the blessed Son of God is honored 
as being sufficient to overcome the whole, without any 
exception. 

If the hearer will be careful enough to attend to a 
particular method of argument on this subject, we will 
endeavor to prove from the divine oracles that it is the 
design of the Saviour to cleanse every sinner of the hu- 
man race from all sin, not excepting the sin against the 
Holy Ghost. If the hearer say, that this argument is 
off of our subject, and that what he wishes to know is, 
why the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost may not 
be forgiven, or why it could not be forgiven as soon as 
other sins, he may be told, that the argument propos- 
ed is thought to be necessary in order to settle the 
question whether the sin against the Holy Ghost is ev- 
er to be forgiven according to the scriptures. If we 
find that, this sin will eventually be washed away by 
the blood of Christ, then our mam question will be to 
ascertain why it could not be forgiven " neither in this 
world, neither in the world to come." 

St. Paul in his 1st Epistle to Timothy lays it down 
as an important fact in the great truths of the gospel, 
that Jesus, the Mediator between God and men, had 
given himself a ransom for all men, to be testified in 
due time. To the Ephesians he lays it down as an im- 
portant fact, that Christ loved the church and gave 
himself for it. By these two passages we have it prov- 
ed that all men constitute the church of Christ which 
he hath purchased with his own blood. This agrees 
also with this Apostle's declaration to the Corinthians ; 
'-' I would have you to know, that the head of every 
man is Christ." To the Hebrews he says, that Jesus, 
by the grace of God tasted death for every man ; and 
the beloved John said, that he is the propitiation for 
the sins of the whole world. Now it is certain, that if 
we can prove any thing from the scriptures, we have 
proved, bv the quotations made, that the blessed Sa- 
11 



122 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

viour of the world gave himself a ransom for those 
Pharisees who spoke this blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost that he tasted death for them, and that he was 
the propitiation for their sins. All this is undeniably 
proved. We ask in the next place, why Jesus gave 
himself for the church ? The Apostle answers in the 
place quoted from Ephesians as follows ; " That he 
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of wa- 
ter by the word ; that he might present it to himself a 
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any 
such thing ; but that it should be holy, and without 
blemish." The argument amounts to this. Jesus 
gave himself for his church, he gave himself a ransom 
for those pharisees who spake blasphemy against the 
Holy Ghost ; they therefore belong to his church. Je- 
sus gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify 
and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word. 
He therefore gave himself a ransom for these blasphe- 
mous pharisees, that he might sanctify and cleanse 
them. 

To the Romans St. Paul says ; " As by the offence 
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, 
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came 
upon all men unto justification of life." Then sure- 
ly by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the second 
Adam, the Lord from heaven, the free gift had came 
on those Pharisees who spake against the Holy Ghost, 
unto justification of life. In this same Epistle he says ; 
" For all have sinned and come short of the glory of 
God ; being justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Then it is evi- 
dent that all who have sinned and come short of the 
glory of God are freely justified, through the redemp- 
tion of which the apostle here spake ; and if so, then 
those Pharisees, who sinned by blaspheming against 
the Holy Ghost were freely justified, &c. 

What must be done in this case ? Will the object- 
or say, that the testimony of Christ, that those who 
blasphemed against the Holy Ghost should not be for- 
given " neither in this world, neither in the world to 
come," plainly disproves all which St. Paul has said 






LECTURES. 123 

on. the subject ? But why have we not equal authori- 
ty to say, that what has been quoted from St Paul dis- 
proves what Jesus said to the Pharisees ? What we 
have quoted from the Apostle is much more than what 
Jesus said concerning this blasphemy's not being for- 
given. Pardon this form of expression ; it is design- 
ed to bring the hearer to consider how the testimony 
of both Jesus and Paul may be allowed to stand good 
as the faithful word of divine truth. 

We may now endeavor to give the direct reason 
why this blasphemy could not be forgiven as soon as 
other sins. If we confine ourselves to the sense of 
scripture on this subject we shall find that not only 
these Pharisees had a design to answer by speaking 
against the spirit by which Jesus cast out devils, but 
Gqd himself had also a design to answer by it, and 
therefore this sin must remain unwashed away until 
the design of our heavenly Father shall be fully an- 
swered. Perhaps some will say, that the supposition 
that the divine Being had any purpose to answer by 
means of this blasphemy is blasphemy itself. But the 
speaker feels fully satisfied on this point of doctrine, 
(viz.) that no sin can exist a moment longer than it 
answers some divine purpose. We may here recol- 
lect what w r as seen when we treated in our last lecture 
on the subject of Joseph and his brethren. Was it 
not evidently seen that the partiality of Jacob in favor 
of the son of his old age was controlled by divine wis- 
dom to answer a good purpose ? Was it not seen that 
the envy of the sons of Jacob towards Joseph was 
overruled for good ? Was it not seen that the avarice 
of those wicked men was made use of by divine Provi- 
dence to check the power of anger and to promote a 
wise, benevolent object ? 

But what object, what purpose of God could possi- 
bly be promoted by such abominable blasphemies as 
this of which we read in our text ? Answer, the blind- 
ness of the house of Israel, the fulfilling of the prophe- 
cies concerning Jesus, and the establishment of the 
gospel in the world on principles consistent with pro- 
phetic testimony. If the religious Jews had believed 



124 

that Jesus wrought all his miracles by the spirit of God, 
they of course would have received him as the Mes- 
siah. If they had thus received him they would not 
have rejected him, despised him, nor would they have 
put him to death. Then surely the testimony of the 
prophets would have proved false, and the scriptures 
written by holy men of God moved by the Holy 
Ghost could never have gained credit among the Gen- 
tiles. 

As the astonishing miracles wrought by the hand of 
Jesus were designed by heaven as proper evidence o* 
his Messiahship, the blasphemy of imputing these lun- 
acies to the power of an evil agent was the only sin 
that could prevent the religious Jews from believing in 
Christ. That this unbelief of the Jews was necessary 
for the fulfilment of the prophecies we are certified by 
the following scriptures. St. John, 12. " But though 
he had done so many miracles before them, yet they 
believed not on him : that the saying of Esaias the 
prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who 
hath believed our report ? and to whom hath the arm 
of the Lord been revealed ? Therefore they could not 
believe, because that Esaias said again, he hath blind- 
ed their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they 
should not see with their eyes nor understand with 
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." 
Romans, 11. " For as ye in times past have not believ- 
ed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their 
unbelief: even so have these also now not believed, 
that through your mercy they also may obtain mer- 
cy." In the passage quoted from St. John we find 
it plainly stated that the unbelief of the Jews was ne- 
cessary for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Esaias ; 
and furthermore it is stated that in consequence of 
what God had done, " they could not believe." By 
the passage quoted from Romans we learn the spe- 
cial utility of the Jews' unbelief; it was that through it 
the Gentiles might obtain mercy. As the Jews' unbe- 
lief led them to fulfil the prophecies, concerning the 
Messiah, so their unbelief presented to the Gentiles the 
proper evidence of the divinity of the scriptures of the 



125 

prophets, and of the mission of Jesus. Here then, we 
may say, we have proved that our heavenly Father 
has plainly revealed in his word, that he had a divine 
purpose to answer by means of the Jews' unbelief, 
which was to communicate his grace to the Gentiles. 
This being granted, or rather proved, it must follow of 
course that when this unbelief or blasphemy has effect- 
ed all which God designed by it, the merciful Father 
of our spirits will use means to remove it from the 
house of Israel ; and therefore it is said, as quoted 
from Romans, 11 ; " Even so have these also now not 
believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain 
mercy." As the unbelief of the Jews was the means 
of communicating mercy to the Gentiles, so in return, 
the mercy which the Gentiles have by such means ob- 
tained will finally be communicated to the Jews. We 
read again in this chapter the following : " For I would 
not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mys- 
tery, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until 
the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all 
Israel shall be saved : as it is written, there shall come 
out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodli- 
ness from Jacob." When the fulness of the Gentiles 
shall be converted to Christ, then the blasphemy of 
the Jews will have answered the purpose for which 
God designed it, and then the deliverer of Israel will 
be sent out of Sion and will turn away this ungodli- 
ness from Jacob. 

The hearer can scarcely avoid seeing that all these 
things are made plain by the testimony of divine in- 
spiration ; but many find a very great difficulty in sub- 
mitting to the idea that the divine Being ever intended 
to answer any purpose by means of man's transgres- 
sion. Yet in the case of Joseph's brethren, it is fully 
evident, that God made use of their wickedness to 
promote their brother to great power, and to give 
him an opportunity of rewarding them good for their 
evil towards him. So, also, the wickedness of the 
Jews, their hatred towards the blessed Jesus, and 
their blasphemy against the spirit by which his mira- 
cles were wrought, all served and still serve to bring 
11 * 



126 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

the object of their envy before the world of the Gen- 
tiles as the glorious Messiah promised in the law and 
in the prophets, and to establish the doctrine of God's 
everlasting love to sinners on a foundation that can 
never be shaken. And to crown the whole of this di- 
vine plan with glory and complete success, after this 
wickedness of the Jews shall have produced the effects 
before noticed, the blessed Redeemer, will then, like 
Joseph, make himself known unto his brethren the 
Jews, saying, as he did to one of them, " I am Jesus 
of Nazareth whom thou persecutest." It is worthy of 
notice that Joseph's brethren, by means of their hatred 
to him, gave a saviour to the land of Egypt and to 
many other countries ; and also, that thousands of 
Egyptians rejoiced in this most gracious saviour before 
his own dear brethren were brought to know him, or 
to partake of his bounty. So the Jews, by rejecting 
their Messiah, gave a glorious Saviour to the Gentiles 
who rejoice in knowing him and in feasting on his 
grace, while the Jews who gave him to us are weeping, 
wailing and gnashing their teeth. But thanks be to God, 
our Blessed Saviour knows his brethren, his bowels 
yearn upon them, he has stores of corn for their relief, 
soon will the burst of joy be heard through all the 
Gentile church, of Jesus' making himself known to 
his brethren. When the Saviour wept over Jerusalem, 
he closed his lamentation with these memorable words ; 
'■ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I 
say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye 
shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord." 

We may now inquire for the meaning of the follow- 
ing words in our text ; " neither in this world, neither 
in the world to come." The word world means age 
or dispensation. Jesus spake these words under the 
law, during the continuance of the legal priesthood. 
" This world" referred to the then present order of 
things, and " the ivorld to come" to the age in which 
the Gentiles would be visited with the gospel, and the 
Jews excluded. That this is a definition of the word 
world which is according to scripture, the hearer may 



127 

satisfy himself by attending to the following passages* 
In the 24th of Matthew, the disciples of Jesus asked 
him when the end of the world was to come ; and in 
his reply he represented to them the destruction of Jeru- 
salem as the end of the world, and told them it would 
take place in that generation. St. Paul in his Epistle 
to the Hebrews says, of Christ ; " But now once in 
the end of the world, hath he appeared, to put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself." Other passages to 
the same effect may also be consulted at the hearer's 
leisure. 

It is true that some who believe that this sin against 
the Holy Ghost will finally be forgiven, carry its pun- 
ishment into a future world, meaning thereby a future 
state of existence. But as they, after all, are under 
the necessity of understanding the word world as we 
have explained it, that is, to mean a dispensation, it 
seems unnecessary to carry this sin into a future state 
beyond our mortal existence. And more especially 
does this appear unnecessary, because all the benefit 
which it appears was designed to be effected by the 
unbelief of the Jews, seems evidently to appertain to 
this state of being. If it can be made to appear that 
God has some good end to answer, by having this sin, 
or any other exist in a future world, we shall cordially 
subscribe to such a belief ; but to suppose that the Al- 
mighty will perpetuate any sin in a future state only 
for the sake of tormenting his dependant offspring is 
dishonorable to his ever blessed and gracious name. — 
The opinion that the divine Being exercises a disposi- 
tion of revenge towards man for sin, as a man who 
has received an injury from his neighbor is influenced 
thereby to injure him in return, is totally contrary to 
the religion of Jesus, and is altogether degrading both 
to God and man. The Father of our spirits, always 
exercises one invariable disposition towards all his crea- 
tures ; this disposition is love. It was love that moved 
God to overrule circumstances so as to send Joseph 
into Egypt by means of his brethren's envy, and 
these brethren were the objects of this love, and they 
finalty enjoyed its blessed fruits. The same love mov 



128 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ed our Father in heaven so to overrule circumstances 
as to bring Jesus to the cross by means of the blasphe- 
my mentioned in our text, and it is evidently the re- 
vealed determination of God, that the blasphemous 
Jews shall richly share of the divine grace which they 
have been the means of manifesting to the world. 
God is good, and his intentions are good when he per- 
mits the evil passions of man to lead him into sin ; he 
is good, and his intentions are all compassionate and 
kind when he brings on his erring children the most 
severe of his chastisements ; and he is also good in 
finally producing the peaceable fruits of righteousness 
in those whom he causes to feel his rod. 

After having presented the hearer with what ap- 
pears to be the true design of the text under consider- 
ation, it may be profitable to look at the common opin- 
ion on the subject and see if it have the resemblance 
of the spirit of Christ. The common opinion of our 
text is this ; the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is 
a sin too great ever to be forgiven, and therefore the 
blasphemer must be punished in a most awful state of 
torment eternally ; or as long as God exists. But let 
us ask, why is this sin so great ? Why may it not be 
forgiven ? Why should the Almighty become unkind 
to his children because they have committed this sin ? 
Is the Almighty injured by this sin ? No, God cannot 
be injured by his creatures. Was Jesus injured as 
much by this blasphemy as the common doctrine sup- 
poses those will be injured who committed it ? No, it 
is allowed that Jesus rests in glory in heaven. Then 
the law that requires an eye for an eye does not require 
that the blasphemer should be punished world without 
end. But suppose the most awful punishment be inflict- 
ed to all eternity on those blasphemers, is this exactly 
according to the spirit of Jesus, who on the cross, pray- 
ed ; " Father forgive them, for they know not what 
they do?" Jesus commanded his disciples to love 
their enemies, to pray for those that used them spite- 
fully and persecuted them; is it according to this spirit 
and disposition, that he will torment his enemies eter- 
nally in the merciless flames of fire and brimstone ? If 



139 

it be safe to believe, that Jesus will always possess and 
exercise the same spirit of love and compassion, which 
so distinctly marked the character which he exhibited 
in the days of his flesh, we certainly have no more rea- 
son to believe that he will consign the blasphemous Jews 
to never ending torment, than we have to believe that 
eveiy tender, fond mother in America will, at the ex- 
piration of a short given time, commit her tenderest 
offspring to the flames. Let those who contend for 
the common unmerciful doctrine, to the support of 
which the text under consideration is usually applied, 
duly consider the words of Jesus, to those of his disci- 
ples, who manifested a disposition to command fire 
from heaven on the inhabitants of a village of Samaria ; 
" Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; the 
Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives but to 
save them." 

The enemy of the spirit of God and of truth will say 
in reply to the foregoing arguments, if these things are 
all so, we may sin with impunity and blaspheme with- 
out fear ; we may hate God, disregard his command- 
ments, give no heed to the gospel and abuse the Sa- 
viour. Though we hope that none present are so 
blind, so hard hearted, so dead to the spirit of truth as 
to make these suggestions, yet it may be serviceable 
to guard against such insinuations, as we know the op- 
posers of divine truth are continually making use of 
them against the doctrine of divine love. Come, then, 
and let. us reason together on this subject. Are you 
willing to step forth boldly and say to the world, that 
the more you believe in the goodness of God, the more 
you feel disposed to hate and disobey him ? The 
more confident you are that the Saviour is your un- 
changeable friend, the more you feel disposed to abuse 
him ? No, there is neither male nor female in the 
world so morally deranged as to talk in this way. 
How then will ie opposer argue ? He will say that 
it is his opinion that the doctrine contended for in this 
discourse is of dangerous tendency. But who does it 
dangerously influence ? Certainly not the believer of 
it, for a belief in the divine goodness tends to fill the 



130 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

believer with love to God, and love to God is that 
alone which can- lead us to obey him. Who, then, 
does this doctrine affect so dangerously ? If any, it 
must be the unbeliever, the opposer. Here we must 
allow the argument, in a sense, for the preaching of 
Jesus himself tended to enrage his enemies, his mira- 
cles of mercy tended to open their mouths in blasphe- 
my. But would it. have been better not to preach the 
truth because it stirred up the opposition ? Would it 
have been better not to cast out devils because if he cast 
them out the Pharisees would blaspheme and say, that 
" this fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub, 
the prince of the devils ?" 

The opposer will say, perhaps, that he means this ; 
if we believe in so much goodness it will tend to make 
us worse. But this is absurd ; for every thing tends to 
its own, goodness to goodness, evil to evil, love to love, 
hatred to hatred, harmony to harmony, discord to 
discord, friendship to friendship, enmity to enmity. 

But, says the objector, according to this doctrine 
there is no punishment for sin, no, not even for this 
awful blasphemy. Here again is a mistake. For 
nearly eighteen hundred years the Jews, the descend- 
ants of him to whom the promise of the gospel was 
made, have wandered in " outer darkness," in conse- 
quence of this blasphemy, and how much longer they 
will continue in this unhappy situation none but our 
merciful Father in heaven knows. But the objector 
will say that these arguments do not suppose that the 
Pharisees who blasphemed in the days of Jesus on 
earth are now burning in fire and brimstone for that 
sin in the immortal world. No, we see no evidence 
of this. If people are possessed with devils in the 
eternal world, and if Jesus cast out devils in that 
world, and these old Pharisees there in that world 
believe and say that he casts out devils by Beelzebub 
the prince of the devils, then it is graited, that in the 
eternal world they must be punished for such unrea- 
sonable folly. 

But, my brethren, let us learn wisdom by the en- 
samples furnished in the word of God, and remem- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 131 

ber that now Is the accepted time, now is the day 
of salvation ; and that none but the willing and obe 
dient eat the good of the land. 



LECTURE X. 

THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION. 
ROMANS, xi. 7. 

What then 1 Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the 
election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 

The design in view which has led to the choice of 
this portion of divine truth, as a subject of our present 
lecture, is to investigate the scripture doctrine of elec- 
tion, to show the strict sovereignty, of God in elect- 
ing some and binding others, the righteousness of God 
in the exercise of his sovereignty, and to disprove 
the common doctrine of election which supposes, that 
our heavenly Father, from eternity, elected some to 
everlasting life, and predestinated others to a state ot 
endless misery. 

Our subject is one in which every christian must 
feel deeply interested, as it essentially concerns the 
divine character, his revealed will concerning the final 
state of mankind, together with the ultimate object ol 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is therefore hoped that 
due attention and impartial candor will contribute to 
their utmost to a correct understanding of the weighty 
subject under consideration. 

By " the election" in our text the Apostle means a 
remnant of the house of Israel, who had obtained what 
the whole had sought for, but of which the greatest 
part had come short, being blinded. In the preceding 
chapters the Author had spoken of the failure of the 
house of Israel in their endeavors to attain to the law 
of righteousness, and of the more favorable condition 
of the Gentiles, who though they did not follow after 
righteousness, yet had " attained to righteousness, even 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 133 

the righteousness which is of faith." To the Gentiles 
he applies a prophesy of Esaias as follows ; " I was 
found of them that sought me not ; 1 was made man- 
ifest to them that asked not after me." But concern- 
ing the house of Israel he uses the following words : 
" But to Israel he saith, all day long, I have stretched 
forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying 
people." In the commencement of this chapter his 
attention seems to be directed to make it appear that, 
notwithstanding all which he had said, God had by no 
means, cast away the whole of his people, the Jews. 
The following is his reasoning on the subject : " I say 
then, hath God cast away his people ? God forbid. 
For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of 
the tribe of -Benjamin. God hath not cast away his peo- 
ple which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scrip- 
ture saith of Elias, how he maketh intercession to God 
against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy pro- 
phets, and digged down thine altars ; and I am left 
alone and they seek my life ? But what saith the an- 
swer of God unto him ? I have reserved to myself 
seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee 
to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present 
time also there is a remnant according to the election 
of grace." That is, as in the days of Elijah it pleased 
God to reserve seven thousand of the Israelites to be 
true worshippers of himself, while the rest bowed the 
knee to Baal, so now, while the general mass of the 
stock of Abraham are blinded, have stumbled at the 
stumbling stone laid in Sion, and are broken off through 
unbelief, there is a remnant still preserved, who. have 
escaped the general calamity, and have by grace ob- 
tained what the others sought for but found not ; of 
this remnant, the Apostle reckons himself as one. 

The hearer is now called on to direct his attention 
to understand, that this election was not made with 
the least reference to the works of the chosen. This 
the Apostle is careful to notice in a most plain and 
positive manner. See his observation in the 6th verse. 
" And if by grace, then it is no more of works ; other- 
wise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, 
12 



134 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no more 
work." This argument supposes that if this election 
had been according to works, grace would have been 
entirely excluded ; but as it was by grace, works were 
excluded. In the 9th chapter the author in describ- 
ing the sovereignty of God in the election of Jacob in 
preference to Esau, says ; " For the children being not 
yet born ; neither having done any good or evil, that 
the purpose of God, according to election might stand 
not of works, bwt of him that calleth." And in fur- 
ther arguing on this subject he adds ; " For he saith to 
Moses, I will have mercy, on whom I will have mer- 
cy, and I will have compassion on v% horn I will have 
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor 
of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 
For the scriptures saith unto Pharaoh, even for this 
same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew 
my power in thee, and that my name might be declared 
throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy 
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he 
hardeneth." To confirm his divine sovereignty still 
further the inspired Apostle adds the following signi- 
ficant query ; " Hath not the potter power over the 
clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto hon- 
or, and another unto dishonor ? What if God, willing 
to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, en- 
dured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath 
fitted to destruction ; and that he might make known 
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which 
he had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he 
hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gen- 
tiles ?" 

Not only does the Apostle labour to show that the 
remnant of the house of Israel, which he calls the elec- 
tion, were elected according to the strict sovereignty 
of God and called by the riches of sovereign grace, 
and made vessels of mercy according to the same un- 
conditional grace of God, but he also directs his 
argument to prove that the blindness of the Jews 
in general, their hardness of heart, &c, was ef- 
fected also by the sovereign will and pleasure of God, 



135 

" According as it is written, God hath given them the 
spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and 
ears that they should not hear. And David saith, let 
their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stum- 
blingblock, and a recompence unto them: let their 
eye's be darkened, that they may not see, and bow 
down their back alvvay." On the same subject we 
read in the prophecy of Isaiah as follows ; " And he 
said, go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but un- 
derstand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears 
heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their 
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with 
their heart, and convert and be healed." And that 
this work of hardening and blinding the house of Israel 
was effectually done we have the assurance in the 12th 
chapter of the gospel of St. John : " But though he 
had done so many miracles before them, yet they be- 
lieved not on him : that the saying of Esaias the pro- 
phet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who 
hath believed our report ? and to whom hath the arm 
of the Lord been revealed ? Therefore they could not 
believe, because that Esaias said again, he hath blind- 
ed their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they 
should not see with their eyes, nor understand with 
their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 
These things said Esaias when he saw his glory and 
spake of him. " In this passage it is stated that " they 
could not believe." It is therefore evident that they 
were effectually blinded, and to all intents hardened 
so that to believe in Jesus was not in their power. It 
appears furthermore, that the Saviour himself regarded 
this blindness of the Jews with peculiar caution, and 
delivered his doctrine in parables on purpose that they 
might not understand. Of this we are informed in 
Matthew 13th — " And the disciples came, and said 
unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables ? 
He answered and said unto them, because it is given 
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of 
heaven, but to them it is not given." And because 
God saw fit to hide the things of the kingdom of his 



136 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

grace from the Jews, Jesus expressed his thanks to the 
Father as recorded in Matthew 11th — "at that time 
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these 
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
them unto babes. Even so, Father ; for so it seemed 

food in thy sight." The reason here given why the 
'ather had hidden these things from the Jews was that 
it seemed good in his sight, so to do. 

Let us attend, in the next place, to see if we can 
learn from the divine testimony, the special good 
which was brought about by the exercise of the divine 
sovereignty in the instances which have been noticed. 
This is a subject of vast concern, for the sentiment we 
embrace respecting it directly affects the moral charac- 
ter of the divine Being: If we consent to the opinion, 
that the elect which we have noticed are elected unto 
eternal life, to enjoy endless felicity, while those w T ho 
are not of the elect are predestinated to everlasting de- 
struction in the future, eternal world, we thereby 
charge God with partiality ; and it is utterly in vain 
to attempt to clear the divine Being of this partiality 
while we admit such a sentiment. It is true, our chris- 
tian doctors have contended, that some were elected 
from all eternity unto eternal life, and the rest of man- 
kind were reprobated to endless misery for the glory 
of God ; and they are therefore unwilling to allow that 
there is any partiality in God in thus disposing of his 
creatures for his own glory. But if we allow ourselves 
to be more particular on this subject, is it not evident 
according to this sentiment that the glory of God re- 
quires him to be good and merciful to some men, but 
utterly unmerciful to others ? As this must be grant- 
ed, it follows of necessary consequence, that the glory 
of God requires him to be partial. Nor does it alter 
the case in the least to say, that the greatest possible 
good of the whole, requires the endless misery of some; 
for this amounts to the same thing, viz. the greatest 
possible good of the whole consists in partial goodness, 
which is an absurdity. If we are able to find out 
what it is that the righteousness of God, according to 



137 

the purpose of election, consists in, it must be some- 
thing that accords with our views of moral righteous- 
ness ; for nothing can be more evident than that we 
can see no righteousness in that which is contrary to 
all our sense of right. For instance, should an earthly 
parent choose three children out of nine to partake of 
all the favors which he could possibly bestow from his 
ample wealth, and destine the remaining six to the most 
severe wretchedness that could possibly be endured, 
and all this should be directed by the sovereign will of 
the parent without any regard to the conduct of the 
children, we should be under the necessity of pro- 
nouncing this conduct partial and unrighteous. If this 
parent should inform us, that he did this for the pro- 
motion of his glory as a parent, it would answer no 
purpose, as to giving the least satisfaction that his con- 
duct was right. Or if he should inform us that he act- 
ed, in all this, for the good of the whole, and that the 
greatest good of the whole required the utter ruin and 
destruction of two thirds ; this would reflect no light 
on the subject. But if the parent of nine children 
had a piece of work to perform which was indispensa- 
ble for the richest benefit of all his offspring, and that 
in order to effect this object it was necessary for some, 
two, or three, to know certain things relative to his 
plan, and equally necessary for the rest to be ignorant 
of those things which were revealed to the few, there 
is no difficulty in seeing the impartiality of the parent 
in making known to certain individuals what he care- 
fully kept from the rest. And even should he use 
means to blind his children in this cnse it would be 
perfectly consistent with his grand object, and consist- 
ent with impartial goodness. 

Christian hearer, suppose yourself one of the chil- 
dren, who was enlightened into the mysteries of this 
scheme which was wisely planned for the best good of 
yourself and of the whole family ; suppose too that 
you sincerely loved all your family, and could clearly 
see how all were to be benefitted by the blindness, or 
ignorance of those who were unenlightened, would 
it not be perfectly natural for you to thank your father 
1-2* 



138 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

for hiding those mysteries from them, and revealing 
them to yon ? With these enlightened views, and in 
the exercise of impartial love towards those who were 
in darkness should you not be willing to suffer any re- 
proach from them which, on account of their necessary 
ignorance, they might heap upon you ? And would 
you not esteem the knowledge of the truth for which 
you might suffer sufficient to countervail all your suf- 
ferings ? Sometimes would you not feel such ardent 
desires towards your deceived brethren as would lead 
you to wish yourself in their ignorance, if thereby 
they might be permitted to see what you were bless- 
ed with seeing, and hear that which you rejoiced to 
hear ? 

Dearly beloved hearer, your humble servant feels 
perfectly satisfied that this is the true spirit and light 
of the wisdom of God ; he enjoys a full persuasion that 
the elections of God recorded in the scriptures are all 
established on this eternal principle of impartial good- 
ness, and that every elected, enlightened child of God 
is exercised with this spirit of love and pity for those 
who are in unbelief. 

That those, of whom the Apostle spake in our text 
as not obtaining what they sought for, but were blind- 
ed, were the subjects of the divine favor, that their 
blindness was necessary for the benefit of the world, 
and that they were designed, in the wisdom of God, to 
be partakers of the benefits arising to the world from 
their blindness and fall, the Apostle fully proves in the 
chapter where our text is written, as we shall now pro- 
ceed to show. 

Let us notice the text and what follows ; " What 
then ? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh 
for ; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest 
were blinded (according as it is written, God hath 
given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should 
not see, and ears that they should not hear) unto this 
day. And David saith, let their table befriade a snare, 
and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence 
unto them : let their eyes be darkened, that they may 
not see, and bow down their back alway." Here let 



139 

us pause. — Here let us ask, does divine revelation 
close this subject in this place? Does it afford no 
hope that these blinded, fallen sons of Israel, who 
stumbled at the stumbling stone laid in Zion will final- 
ly be received to favor ? Are the inexorable doors of 
eternal mercy shut against them by an unalterable de- 
cree of the God of their fathers ? If all this were true 
then would the doctrine of election and reprobation, as 
has been held in the christian church for ages be true 
also ; but hark ! What does the inspired apostle say 
further on this subject and concerning them who were 
blinded and had stumbled ? " I say then, have they 
stumbled that they should fall ? God forbid : but rath- 
er through their fall salvation is come unto the Gen- 
tiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now, if the fall 
of them, be the riches of the world, and the diminish- 
ing of them, the riches of the Gentiles ; how much 
more their fulness ? For if the casting away of them 
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiv- 
ing of them be but life from the dead. — For if thou 
wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature 
and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive- 
tree, how much more shall they, which be the natural 
branches be grafted into their own olive-tree ? For I 
would not brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this 
mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own conceit,) 
that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall 
be saved ; as it is written, there shall come out of Sion 
the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Ja- 
cob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall 
take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they 
are enemies for your sakes : but as touching the elec- 
tion, they are beloved for the fathers' sake. For the 
gifts and calling of God, are without repentance. For 
as ye in times past, have not believed God, yet have 
now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so 
have these also now not believed, that through your 
mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath 
concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have 
mercy upon all !" On such luminous testimony as 



140 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

this, comment is needless. With less blindness than 
that which happened to Israel, no one can avoid see- 
ing that it was the design of the inspired author to 
prove that the Jews' blindness was advantageous to 
the gentile world, and that they would eventually be 
the happy partakers of that grace which was revealed 
to the Gentiles by means of their blindness. The 
hearer will carefully observe the connexion between 
this subject and the one treated of in our last lecture, 
and examine the whole of this chapter on the moment- 
ous subject of this inquiry by which he may see the 
glorious light which caused the Apostle to exclaim ; 
" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
the knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his 
judgments, and his ways past finding out !" 

By the Calvinistic doctrine of election we have been 
taught to believe, that the remnant according to the 
election of grace, of which the Apostle speaks in our 
context, "the election , ' of which he speaks in our text 
were all that were the beloved objects of divine mercy 
of the whole house of Israel ; and that they who were 
blinded, were predestinated from eternity to endless 
darkness and misery. But by the evident sense of the 
divine testimony on this subject we have ample evi- 
dence to believe, what has been so fully proved, that 
" all Israel shall be saved." Those blinded Jews were 
the objects of the Saviour's grace as much as those 
who were chosen to receive and preserve the know- 
ledge of him. They were those of the family, who, it 
was necessary should be ignorant of the truth which 
was revealed to others of the same family for the ben- 
efit of all. Our blessed Saviour manifested towards 
those blinded Jews, the most tender, affectionate re- 
gard. His pity for them melted him into tears, lie 
wept over them with as much tenderness as Joseph 
wept over his brethren. 

St. Paul was one of the family who was for some 
time blinded ; during which time he was active in as- 
sisting his brethren who also were blind, in prosecut- 
ing their persecutions against the enlightened disciples 
of Jesus. He was afterward himself, brought to know 



141 

the truth, to understand the mystery of the wis- 
dom and goodness of God in blinding the Jews, 
and he ever seemed to be exercised with a spirit and 
disposition of compassion for his brethren according to 
the flesh. ' ■ 

In the beginning of the 10th chapter of this epistle 
he expresses himself as follows ; " Brethren, my heart's 
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they 
might be saved." In the beginning of the 9th chap- 
ter he has the following indication of most fervent be- 
nevolence ; " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my 
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow of 
heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed, 
from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according 
to the flesh." Christian hearer, when you were asked, 
on supposition you were one of the family that was en- 
lightened in certain matters concerning which your 
brethren were in the dark, if you might not feel will- 
ing to exchange circumstances with the unenlightened, 
did you not feel an assent to the question ? And does 
it not seem that this was the exact case of the Apos- 
tle ? He knew that he was chosen of God, enlight- 
ened by the Saviour, made a vessel of mercy, and or- 
dained to the work of the ministry for no good that he 
nad done. It was not possible, therefore, that with all 
this knowledge, he could feel unmerciful towards his 
brethren, who remained exactly in the situation from 
which the grace of God had taken him. It was there- 
fore, with unspeakable satisfaction, that he anticipated 
the happy event of the turning away of ungodliness 
from Jacob, and the salvation of all Israel. 

Brethren, though a regret is felt that better justice 
has not been done to the weighty subject under con- 
sideration, yet a hope is entertained that you clearly 
see, that the blindness of those Jews who were not of 
the elect spoken of in our text, was designed for the 
benefit of the Gentile world ; and that when their 
blindness shall have effected all for which it was de- 
signed in the wisdom of God, it will be removed, and 
the blinded will be saved in Sion's deliverer. And fur- 



142 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

thermore, that the elected ones were chosen, not for 
their benefit alone, but for the good likewise of those 
who were not elected. 

We may now look for a moment, and see if this doc- 
trine of election agrees with the scriptures generally 
and with reason. The doctrine of election according 
to the views we have taken of it, supposes that those 
who are elected, are elected for the benefit of those 
who are not elected. The prophet Isaiah in the 42d 
chapter speaks of an elect of God as follows ; ' Be- 
hold my servant, whom I uphold ; mine elect, in whom 
my soul delighteth : I have put my Spirit upon him ; 

he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 1 

the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will 
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for 
a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles ; 
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from 
the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the 
prison-house." This elect of God is the Lord Jesus, 
the Saviour of the world, of whom the Apostle John 
says ; " we have seen and do testify that the Father 
sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." This 
elect of God is the One Mediator between God and 
men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ran- 
som for all to be testified in due time." Thus it is 
evident that this elect was designed for the benefit of 
the whole world. 

The Saviour also himself had an elect. He chose 
his Apostles and ordained them to preach his grace 
and salvation to the whole world. " Go ye into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every creature." 
This elect therefore, was for the benefit of the whole 
world. 

Being one of the elect, and having received a dis- 
pensation of the gospel of reconciliation, St. Paul said 
to the Romans, "I am a debtor both to the Greeks 
and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and to the un- 
wise." Here we see that what the world lacked, the 
Apostles of Jesus had for it, what the wise and the un- 
wise lacked St. Paul had for them. The Apostles were 
not chosen to be the exclusive pai takers, of the grace 



143 

which they received, but were commanded by the di- 
vine Master to bestow as freely on others, as they had 
received. It seems a fair conclusion from the facts 
noticed, that the grace of God which is specially com- 
municated to his elect is ultimately designed as much 
for those who are not elected as for those who are. 

This doctrine is perfectly consistent with the dictates 
of reason and is analogous with the prudent manage- 
ment of civil community. 

In all societies a few are elected for the benefit of 
the whole. They are never chosen to monopolize all 
the blessings of society to themselves, but to make as 
equal a distribution of burdens and favors, of expenses 
and profits as possible. Look at the elected officers 
of the town ; they see for the blind, they hear for the 
deaf, they walk for the lame, they have wealth for the 
poor, they provide for those who cannot provide for 
themselves. Notice every officer in the general gov- 
ernment of our country, up to the presidency ; men 
are elected to fill all these places, not for their ex- 
clusive benefit, but for the good of the whole union. 

Let us ask, where in the vast creation, did the wis- 
dom of this world iind the Calvinistic doctrine of elec- 
tion and reprobation ? Does the sun shine to light 
himself alone? Are his fervid beams designed to 
warm his own bosom only ? And in the mild rays of 
the queen of night does she alone rejoice ? Do winds 
blow to refresh themselves ? Are rivers designed for 
their own benefit? What element, what vegetable, 
what animal exists for itself only ? 

"All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
Whose body nature is, and God the soul." 

To conclude. Let us duly notice the morallenden- 
cy of divine truth, as seen in the subject under con- 
sideration. God is good to all, his tender mercies are 
over all his works. This truth demands of every ra- 
tional being the exercise of that diffusive benevolence 
which embraces the whole creation. Those whom 
God chooses to enlighten by his grace, while others 
are blinded, are appointed to administer the riches of 



144 

the manifold wisdom and goodness of God to such as 
lack the knowledge of his ways. The spirit of Christ 
is love to enemies, his grace is the salvation of sinners ; 
if therefore, we partake of his spirit and enjoy his grace 
we shall be led thereby to love our enemies and to ad- 
minister saving grace to those who walk in sin. Is it 
not a fact that limited views of the goodness of God 
have limited the charity of those who had them ? and 
have not those opinions, which maintain that the Fath- 
er of our spirits will execute unspeakable vengeance 
on a large proportion of the human family eternally, ef- 
fectually hardened the hearts of* those who have been 
led by them, and rendered them in too many instan- 
ces, unreasonable enthusiasts and violent persecu- 
tors of those who have not conformed to their super- 
stitions ? 

Not only does the impartial grace which we have 
seen in the doctrine of election lead us to love all men, 
and to do good to all men, but it shows us that we are 
no better than those who are blind respecting this di- 
vine and glorious system of truth. This doctrine nat- 
urally leads the believer to pity the blindness of those 
who do not see ; but it gives the consoling anticipa- 
tion of the final reconciliation of all things through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. It fills the heart with grati- 
tude to God, who so wisely planned and so gracious- 
ly designed the blindness of the house of Israel, that 
thereby salvation might come unto the Gentiles ; and 
has so ordained in his impartial goodness, that the 
blinded Jews shall eventually obtain the mercy now 
enjoyed by the Gentiles. Thus of the twain, the wis- 
dom of God makes one new man, so making peace. 
Therefore we read ; " Rejoice ye Gentiles with his 
people. .. And again, praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles ; 
and laud him all ye people." 



LECTURE XL 

GOD RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF, THROUGH 
CHRIST. 

II. CORINTHIANS, v. 18, 19, 20. 

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus 
Chr st, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God 
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their tres- 
passes unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you 
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 

It is a peculiar and distinguishing characteristic of 
the gospel dispensation, that it exhibits a new order of 
things, brings the glad tidings of better things than 
were before understood, sheds a clearer light on men- 
tal vision than was before enjoyed, makes a brighter 
manifestation of the gracious designs of the wisdom of 
God than was made by the legal dispensation, and 
creates new views, new desires, and new affections of 
heart. The gospel of God our Saviour, contemplates 
the world of mankind as being in a state of death, from 
which state its divine efficacies were designed to quick- 
en man into newness of life by the spirit of truth. 
These suggestions seem to be embraced by the Apos- 
tle in our context where he says ; " The love of Christ 
constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died 
for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all, 
that they which live should not henceforth live 
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, 
and rose again. Wherefore, henceforth know we no 
man after the flesh ; yea, though we have known 
Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we 
him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ he 
is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold, 
all things are become new." 
13 



146 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

Applied to the Jewish converts, these words of the 
Apostle are designed to notice the passing away of the 
legal dispensation with all its rites, and the introduction 
of the better covenant and more excellent ministry of the 
gospel ; and as they apply to Gentile believers they re- 
regard the total overthrow of all the idols and idol 
worship among the heathen, and their reformation to 
the knowledge, laws and ordinances of the gospel of 
Christ. 

To these neiv things the Apostle alludes in our text, 
and says ; " all things are of God, who hath reconciled 
us unto himself," &c. 

The first particular subject of our text is what is em- 
braced in the reconciliation of the ambassadors of 
Christ to God. Concerning this subject the Apostle's 
testimony makes the following things evident. 1st. 
That they had been in a state of unreconciliation. 2. 
That the whole process, from the beginning to the end 
of the work of their reconciliation was of God. 3d. 
That this work fvas effected by Jesus Christ. Per- 
haps no man was ever more unreconciled to God, to 
Christ, or to the gospel than the author of our text had 
been ; and it was well known to him that he was not 
the author of those means by which he became recon- 
ciled. He well knew that the knowledge of Jesus, in 
the excellency of which he afterward so much rejoiced 
w T as by no means the object of his enquiry or pursuit at 
the time and on the occasion to which he refers when 
giving an account of his miraculous conversion to 
Christianity. He often adverted to his views, his de- 
signs, and to his conduct while opposed to the gospel, 
but in no instance did he give any intimation that he 
obtained the grace of the Saviour in consequence of 
his own faithful exertions. Similar remarks may just- 
ly be made respecting the Apostles who were chosen 
by our divine Redeemer during his personal ministry. 
Some he called from a lucrative office under the Ro- 
man government, others from the laborious employ- 
ment of fishermen ; but it is evident that the Saviour 
made his own selections without regard to the wisdom 
or will of his chosen, for he informed them as follows ; 






LECTURES. 147 

" Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that 
you should go and bring forth fruit." Indeed there is 
an evident absurdity in the supposition that God re- 
conciles any to himself on account of their good works, 
for those who are obedient unto righteousness are not 
unreconciled to God. For want of making proper 
distinctions between causes and effects, many well 
meaning and pious people have maintained that the 
divine favor is to be obtained by the penitence, faith, 
and good works of men not discerning clearly, that re- 
pentance, faith and good works are the effects and not 
the causes of the favor of God. Let us here indulge 
a simile. A number of children, at that age when 
passions and fancy are vastly more powerful than rea- 
son and solid judgment, leave the paternal mansion, 
disgusted at the rules of prudence, industry and econ- 
omy established in the domestic circle, in quest of fan- 
cied pleasures in the indulgence of those passions 
which grow restless under restraint. The race is 
short ; they soon fall into wretchedness and want, but 
do not yet understand their errors. To save them 
from this sad condition the still affectionate father un- 
dertakes to make such communications to them as 
may convince them of the propriety of his laws, the 
indispensable necessity of his prudence and econ- 
omy for the good of his family, and to reconcile 
them to himself. The means which the father uses 
for the purpose mentioned are so wisely planned, 
and so well executed that they eventuate in effecting 
the deserved object. The children become convinced 
of the excellency of those laws and regulations at which 
they were so much offended, they see the madness 
and folly of their wicked indulgences, sorrow of heart 
and sincere repentance are effectually wrought in 
them, and they finally return to their gracious parent 
and devote themselves to his service, which is now no 
longer grievous, but joyous. Would it be at all reason- 
able for these reformed children to believe that their 
repentance and return to their parent were means 
which obtained the love and good will of their father ? 
Surely it would be most unreasonable, for it is evident 



148 

that the children's repentance and return were the ef- 
fects and not the causes of the parental kindness. In 
the enjoyment of all the blessings of their father's 
house,, and with a clear understanding concerning all 
these circumstances, might they not say with great pro- 
priety, All things are of our wise and most merci- 
ful Father, who hath reconciled us unto himself. 

Let us, in the next place, lend our attention to the 
consideration of these words in our text; "and hath 
given to us the ministry of reconciliation." By these 
words we learn that the same ministry, by which the 
ambassadors of Christ were reconciled to God, was 
given to them for the purpose of reconciling others ; 
by which the following facts are clearly suggested. 
1st. That mankind at large, to whom the Apostles 
were directed to preach the gospel, were in the same 
state of unreconciliation in which these ambassadors 
of Christ had been, and from which the ministry of di- 
vine grace had reclaimed them. 2. That the same di- 
vine favor, by which these ambassadors were recon- 
ciled to God, is treasured up in the gospel ministry 
for those who remain unreconciled ; and 3d. That 
the ambassadors of Christ have nothing to administer 
to the unbelieving and unreconciled but such as has 
been administered to them, by which they became recon- 
ciled to God. These facts are evidently embraced in 
this part of our subject and deserve a careful attention. 
By losing sight of these things, the minister of the 
word is exposed to corrupt it, and in room of adminis- 
tering the pure gospel of reconciliation, as it has been 
communicated to himself, he may imagine himself au- 
thorised to deal with others in a very different manner 
from that in which the divine favor was administered 
to him. 

Without any design to trouble the feelings of those 
who entertain sentiments differing from our own, but 
with a humble desire to reflect light on our subject, 
let us ask if we have any information which authorizes 
us to believe that St. Paul was threatened with the 
everlasting vengeance of an incensed, vindictive wrath 
unless he repented of his sins and believed in the Lord 



151 

Jesus ? It is true the same question may with equal 
propriety be asked concerning all the Apostles, but the 
single case of St. Paul, who was the author of the scrip- 
ture under consideration, is sufficient to try the ques- 
tion, and place the subject in a clear light. The ac- 
count recorded in the 26th of Acts, which was solemnly 
given in by the Apostle himself, before king Agrippa 
is so very important in itself, and so essential to the 
present query that the hearer will listen with attention 
to what may be recited from it. After having given a 
particular relation of his past life in the Jews' religion, 
his full persuasion that he ought to do many things 
contrary to the name of Jesus, and that he actually did 
those things shutting up the saints in prison and giv- 
ing his voice against them when they were put to 
death, punishing them oft in every Synagogue and 
compelling them to blaspheme, &c. he proceeds as 
follows ; " Whereupon, I went to Damascus with au- 
thority and commission from the chief priest, at mid- 
day, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, 
about the brightness of the sun, shining round about 
me, and them that journied with me. And when we 
were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking 
unto me, and saying, in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me ? It is hard for thee 
to kick against the pricks. And I said, who art thou, 
Lord ? And he said, I am Jesus, whom thou perse- 
cutest. But arise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have 
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a 
minister and a witness, both of these things which thou 
hast seen, and of those things in the which I will ap- 
pear unto thee ; delivering thee from the people and 
from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to 
Dpen their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to 
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that 
they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in 
me." In this most solemn and interesting account is 
there the least intimation of the threatening vengeance 
noticed in our query? Surely there is not. Indeed 
there appears to have been no conditions stated in 



152 

• 
the case. Jesus said to Saul ; " I have appeared unto 
thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a 
witness," &c. Jesus did not appear to this persecutor 
to propose what are now called terms of grace and 
conditions of salvation, but to make him a minister 
and a witness. And as there were no threatnings nor 
conditions in the ministration by which Saul was con- 
verted to Christianity and made a minister of the same 
ministry of reconciliation, so he was not directed to go 
to the Gentiles with threatenings and conditions, but 
he was sent to them to open their eyes and to turn 
them from darkness to light, and from the power of 
satan unto God." Jesus opened Saul's eyes, turned 
him from darkness to light, and from the power of sa- 
tan unto God, that he might receive the forgiveness of 
sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified ; 
and he sent him to the Gentiles to work the same on 
them. 

That the Apostles might be duly furnished with the 
true ministry of reconciliation ; the word of reconcili- 
ation was committed to them as designated in our text, 
as follows ; " That God was in Christ, reconciling the 
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
them." This word and ministry of reconciliation does 
not impute men's trespasses to them, but exercises the 
means of reconciliation on them. 

That this subject may be understood according to 
its evangelical principles the following particulars, which 
are implied in the words under consideration may be 
noticed. 1st. God is not unreconciled to sinners and 
therefore needs not to be reconciled to them. 2d. 
Sinners are unreconciled to God, and therefore he has 
designed to reconcile them to himself by means of the 
gospel ministry ; and 3d. The ministry of the gospel 
comes with all the means necessary to reconcile sinners 
to God. 

The opinion that our heavenly Father became in- 
imical to man in consequence of his sin is not only in 
direct opposition to the sentiment of our text, but is 
also repugnant to the essential character of the divine 
Being. How is it possible to maintain that God is 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 153 

unchangeable, the same yesterday to day and forever, 
and yet suppose that his disposition towards his crea- 
tures is changed by their conduct ? Again, it denies 
the infinite knowledge of God to suppose that he be- 
came unfriendly to us by reason of our sin ; for if he 
knew before he made us that we should fall into temp- 
tation and become sinful, he had all the reason to be 
our enemy then that he has had since. Moreover it 
denies the divine goodness to allow that he made a 
being when he knew that the work of his own hands 
would incur his divine displeasure. Indeed, the sup- 
position that our Father in heaven became our enemy 
in consequence of our sin, makes him to violate the 
grand principle, which more than any other, distinctly 
marks out the law of righteousness expressed by the 
Saviour as follows ; " I say unto you, love your ene- 
mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use 
you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children 
of your Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
the rain on the just and on the unjust." As the divine 
Teacher, in the passage here recited, notices the divine 
Being in the character of a Father, it may be proper 
to observe in this place that it is inconsistent with the 
character of an earthly father to become an enemy to 
his offspring because his child is disobedient, and sure- 
ly it would be much more repugnant to the character 
of our heavenly Father to become unfriendly to us for 
our faults. 

The hearer is cautioned against construing this rea- 
soning into a supposition, that our heavenly Father 
will not chastise his children for disobedience, for chas- 
tisement is the sure pledge of the father's love and 
faithfulness. . 

It may contribute to make our subject still plainer, 
if we inquire for the possible means whereby the 
Creator could be reconciled to mankind, if he were 
once our enemy. Will it be said, that what his 
Holy Child Jesus has done in our world was designed 
by his Father to reconcile him to the world ? Truly, 



154 

this has been believed, but it is in direct opposition to 
the testimony of Jesus, who said ; " God so loved the 
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeih in him should not perish but have ev- 
erlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the 
world to condemn the world, but that'the world through 
him might be saved. If God send his Son into the 
world because he loved it, he certainly did not send 
him into the world to reconcile himself to those whom 
he loved. It is a thing at which reason marvels, that 
learned men should ever have been so absurd as to 
suppose, that God could use means to reconcile him- 
self to his creatures, and that the sufferings of Jesus 
were designed for this purpose ; for if God loved us 
he was not unreconciled to us ; and if he did not love 
us, but was an enemy to us, he would have done noth- 
ing lor our good. 

Contrary to these notions of reconciling God to men 
the ministry of the gospel is designed to reconcile men 
to God, by which ministry the trespasses of men are 
not imputed to them, but are forgiven. 

Let us in the next place, notice the efficacies of the 
gospel ministry to effect the reconciliation designed by 
it. To understand this subject, it is necessary to 
know the cause of man's unreconciliation. This is 
his ignorance of the true character of God. This we 
learn from St. Paul's words, Ephesians, iv. 18. Speak- 
ing of the vanity of the Gentiles and their alienations 
he says ; ' having the understanding darkened, being 
alienated from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart." 
Because this was the situation of the Gentiles, Jesus 
told the Apostle, that he sent him to them, to open 
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light. 
If there were any property of the divine Being, that is 
inimical to us, the more our eyes were 'opened to see 
its nature the more unreconciled we should be to it. 
But as God is infinitely gracious, unchangeably merci- 
ful, and altogether lovely, the more our eyes are open- 
ed to see and understand the blessed qualities of his 
nature, the more we are reconciled to him, and the 






155 

better we love him. Again, if our nature were totally 
opposite to the nature of God and holiness, the more 
we discovered of the nature of God, the more we 
should be opposed to it. 

The fact is, God is the real source of all moral, in- 
tellectual nature, and a knowledge of him is the only 
means by which we can be reconciled to him, and the 
want of this knowledge is the real cause of our unre- 
conciliation. 

In consistency with these well established facts, the 
gospel ministry brings the testimony and evidence of 
the love of God and of his divine goodness to sinners. 
The following is the testimony ; " When we were with- 
out strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet 
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to 
die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in 

that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to 
God by the death of his Son : much more, being re- 
conciled, we shall be saved by his life. But God, 

who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he 
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quick- 
ened us together with Christ. Herein is love, not 

that we loved God ; but that he loved us, and sent his 
Son to be the propitiation for sins." 

By such testimony it is seen, that the ministration 
of reconciliation brings, in the most direct manner, the 
love of God to the understanding of the sinner, by 
which repentance is wrought in the heart, and the soul 
brought to love God ; for it is the goodness of God 
that leadeth to repentance, and again, we are told, that 
" we love him because he first loved us." 

It is contended by many that it is dangerous to in- 
form sinners that God is really kind and merciful to 
them. It is thought that this information, if it be true, 
will tend to make them worse. Why then do the 
scriptures abound with such testimony ? And again, 
why did not the manifestation of the love and compas- 
sion of Jesus to Saul make him worse ? Jesus said to 
him ; " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?*' Why 
did not this enemy of Christ reply ; I persecute you 



156 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

because you love me, I hate your name because in it 
alone I am sensible I have salvation : and now as your 
compassions fail not, and you are determined to make 
me a minister of divine mercy, I am determined to 
hate you more and persecute you tenfold to what I 
have heretofore ? If there were no danger in making 
such a glorious display of the goodness of God to this 
so great an enemy of the gospel, how should it happen 
that similar manifestations to sinners now should be 
so very dangerous as is represented by those who are 
the ministers of wrath and condemnation ? 

It may be useful in this place to notice some of the 
similes used in scripture to represent the ministration 
of reconciliation. By the prophet Isaiah Christ is call- 
ed a light to lighten the Gentiles, and Jesus said ; 
" I am the light of the world," and having communi- 
cated his light to his disciples, he told them, that they 
were the light of the world. Now according to the 
objection which we have noticed, it is dangerous to 
give light to them who are in darkness, for it may 
make them worse. Jesus said ; "I am the bread of 
life." This is the bread which came down from hea- 
ven and giveth life to the world ; but it is dangerous to 
give this bread to sinners, it is thought it may make 
them worse. Jesus represented the sinner by those 
who are sick, and himself as a physician. Will it do 
to say, it is dangerous to heal the sick because it may 
make them worse ? No, these things are not so. 
Those who have been delivered from the power of 
darkness by the true light, have been thereby deliver- 
ed from the power of satan and translated into the 
kingdom of God's dear Son. Those who have eaten 
of the bread of God have found it to be spiritual life, 
and these who have received the healing balsam of the 
divine Physician have felt the power of sin to die with- 
in them, and have been reconciled to God through Jesus 
Christ. 

As it may be due to the situation of some minds, we 
may notice a question which is so often stated, viz : if 
the sinner may immediately receive divine favor, when 
and where is he to be punished for his sins ? This 
question is made of great concern by those who be- 



BALLOU'S LECTURE3. 157 

lieve that the gospel is a ministration of condemnation. 
But there is one thing we cannot but observe in those 
who urge this question ; they never ask when they, 
themselves, are to be punished for their sins. They 
appear to have no concern about this weighty question 
as it regards themselves : their whole concern is about 
sinners. And this concern is not for fear they will be 
punished, but for fear they will not be. 

Let us return the question to those who bring it, 
and ask them, when and where are you to receive the 
punishment for your sins ? You contend, that the 
wicked must be punished, you are zealous to have 
the wicked punished ; as Nathan said to David, " thou 
art the man." 

Turn, Pharisees, thine eyes within, 
Nor further search abroad for sin. 

When and where was murderous David, king of Is- 
rael, punished for his sins ? When and where was 
the author of our text, " the minister and witness " of 
Jesus, punished, for the murders which be had prac- 
tised on the innocent lambs of Christ ? We answer 
the question and say, sin and misery are inseparably 
united in the nature of cause and effect. When and 
where we are sinful, then and there we are our own tor- 
mentors. " The way of the transgressor is hard — there 
is no peace to the wicked." 

Look at the nature of this subject. Jesus appeared 
to Saul, to make him a minister and a witness, to open 
the eyes of the Gentiles. But when were these Gen- 
tiles punished for being blind ? The Apostle was to 
turn the Gentiles " from darkness to light." But when 
were they punished for being in the dark ? He was 
to deliver them from the power of satan. But when 
were they punished for having been under satan 's 
power ? My brethren, satan's yoke is a hard service, 
his government is tyranical, and his power is oppres- 
sive. 

The reason why our heavenly Father has sent the 
ministration of his grace to reconcile sinners to him- 
self, is. that they mav receive inheritance among them 
14 



158 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

who are sanctified. If satan's yoke were easy and if 
his burden were light, if sin and happiness were con- 
nected, why should the Almighty wish to deprive his 
creatures of this felicity ? And if sin and all manner 
of vice afford happiness to man in this world, why will 
they not be permitted to continue hereafter, and there 
continue the source of human happiness ? There nev- 
er was a deception that operated so much to the dis- 
advantage of mankind, as that of believing that happi- 
ness is to be obtained in sin. This deception makes 
slaves of millions, who devote themselves to their blind 
passions, and " are dead while they live." From this 
deception, from this slavery and from this death the 
ministry of reconciliation is designed to deliver the 
world. Therefore, the ambassadors of Jesus, cry, as 
in our text, " we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye re- 
conciled to God." 

Reconciliation to God, is reconciliation to his reveal- 
ed attributes and will, and consists in a conformity to 
the divine commands. A profession of religion may 
be totally disconnected with the reconciliation contem- 
plated in our text, which is known, as was suggested 
in our introduction, by new views, new affections, and 
new desires. If we judge by their fruits, many have 
professed the religion of the Saviour, who have no dif- 
ferent views from what they had before, only they now 
Delieve that, they are more righteous than their neigh- 
bours ; and remain as destitute of love to their breth- 
ren of the human family as ever. God is love ; there- 
fore to be reconciled to God, we must be reconciled 
to this divine principle. God is known to be love to 
all his creatures, because he actually does good to all. 
If we love all God's rational offspring, as our breth- 
ren, we are therein reconciled to God. St. Paul says ; 
God " will have all men to be saved, and to come un- 
to the knowledge of the truth." If this will be in us, 
and if we can in sincerity pray for this will to be ac- 
complished, we are therein reconciled. We are com- 
manded to love our enemies and to do to others as we 
would have them to do to us, in doing which, we are 
reconciled to God. We are commanded to forgive 



159 

those who trespass against us, in which we resemble 
our Heavenly Father who was in Christ reconciling 
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses 
unto them. We are commanded to forgive one ano- 
ther, as God, for Christ's sake hath forgiven us. This 
is conformity to God. We are required to do justly, 
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God ; and in 
so doing we are reconciled to him. 

But says our opposer, what if we do not conform 
to these divine requirements ? it makes no difference, 
if God loves all men, wills that all should be saved, 
and does not impute our trespasses to us. Reply ; 
Our reconciliation to God, and our conformity to his 
will and all his requirements is the salvation which our 
heavenly Father wills for us ; it is the life which Jesus 
came to give to the world ; it is heaven, it is joy and 
peace in the Holy Ghost. This doctrine is the doc- 
trine of divine love, this love is a fountain of living 
waters, it is that river whose streams make glad the 
city of our God. 



LECTURE XII. 

ALL MEN DRAWN TO CHRIST. 

JOHN xii. 32. 

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 

As the time drew near that the Lord of glory, the 
mediator of the new covenant should seal his testa- 
ment with his blood, there came to his disciples 
certain Greeks, and said to Philip, Sir, we would 
see Jesus. Philip and Andrew communicate this re- 
quest, to their master, who in room of either consent- 
ing to their request, or of refusing, replied saying, 
" The hour is come that the Son of man should be 
glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn 
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; 
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." 

These Greeks, being Gentiles, were not the subjects 
of the ministry of Jesus in the days of his flesh, but as 
soon as he should be put to death in the flesh and be 
quickened by the Spirit, then would the gospel be 
preached to the Gentiles. Therefore when he was 
told that certain Greeks desired to see him, he spoke 
of his being glorified in sending his gospel to them. 
He was the corn of weat that abode alone until it fell 
into the ground and died ; but after it died and was 
quickened it brought forth much fruit, " even judgment 
unto the Gentiles." The Saviour proceeded to speak 
of his sufferings, saying ; " Now is my soul troubled ; 
and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this 
hour : but for this cause came I unto this hour. Fath- 
er, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from 



161 

heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glori- 
fy it again. The people therefore that stood by, and 
heard it, said, that it thundered : others said, an angel 
spoke to him. Jesus answered and said, this voice 
came not because of me, but for your sakes. Now is 
the judgment of this world : Now shall the prince of 
this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from 
the earth, will draw all men unto me." Here again it 
seems evident, that the Redeemer had special allusion 
to the request of the Greeks. As if he had said ; I 
must die ; I must be lifted up upon the cross ; I must 
be laid in the silent house of death ; I must rise from 
the dead, bring life and immortality to light through 
the gospel ; then, not only these few Greeks shall be 
permitted to see me, but I will send forth to the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles, and finally to the Jews, the min- 
istry of reconciliation by which I will " draw all men 
unto me." 

A few arguments will now be directed to prove, that 
all men are the subjects of the Redeemer's grace. 
This point of doctrine is now before the public mind, 
and more than any other invites the attention of all 
denominations. It is true, those who preach a con- 
trary creed, endeavor as much as possible to postpone 
the consideration of this subject, and they use all the 
influence which they can possibly bring to act on the 
public mind, to turn the attention of the people from 
a candid examination of it. However, it very frequent- 
ly happens, that the efforts which are designed to pre- 
vent people from looking into these things excite their 
curiosity and incite them more to the examination than 
if nothing was said or done. If it were a crime for the 
rulers of the Jews to associate with the Saviour and at- 
tend on his instruction ; if excommunication awaited 
those who should profess Christ openly, there was the 
night season, when the enemies of the Redeemer were 
either locked up in sleep, or perhaps in superstitious 
conclave, scoffing at the benign doctrine, of grace and 
concerting more severe measures to prevent its spread, 
when a Nicodemus, could go, unnoticed to Jesus and 

obtain a knowledge of salvation. If the wisdom of 
1 4 # 



162 

this world be crafty enough to employ gentle, sooth- 
ing, and persuasive measures to quiet the people 
in that cold cruel system of partiality and endless mis- 
ery, it is only like jogging the cradle to quiet the child, 
while its cries increase with its want of nourishment. 

This doctrine of universal salvation, which we pro- 
pose to prove in this discourse, seems to be favored by 
the dictates of sound reason, and fully supported by 
the evidences derived from the nature of the manifest 
economy of universal providence. 

If we could do ourselves the justice to lay aside all 
the prejudices of our mistaught minds, and open our 
eyes to the light of reason, and our ears to the voice 
of enlightened understanding, we should soon find our 
minds engaged in the sweet contemplations of the im- 
partial goodness of the Supreme Ruler. 

The same creative power gave existence to all men, 
all are blessed by the same munificent providence, the 
sun that makes and rules the day, the moon that rules 
the night discovers no partiality in dispensing their fa- 
vors. Do not the rains fall, and the dews descend as 
common blessings on mankind ? Is not the vital air, 
is not the fulness of the waters the undivided inherit- 
ance of mankind ? Is there an element, is there a 
vegetable, is there a fruit which nature reserves from 
the general store-house of him, who opens his hand 
and satisfies the desire of every living thing ? 

Let us contemplate the unity of our common nature, 
the dependence of one on another, and that eternal in- 
dissoluble law by which we are united. Notwithstand- 
ing there is an infinite variety among mankind, there 
is no distinction of moral nature ; nor is there a genio 
in the whole family of man that the philosopher can 
prove to be useless and of no advantage to others. 
Those who are considered to be the most useful mem- 
bers of community frequently owe their means to be 
so, to them, who being placed in the low walks of 
life, are scarcely known in society. What would 
kings be without subjects ? what would rulers be des- 
titute of people ? Are not servants as profitable in 
their stations, as their masters are in theirs? and are 



163 

not the rich and the poor blessings to each other ? 
The sacred connexions of husband and wife, of parents 
and children, of brethren and sisters, if duly contemp- 
lated, furnish a most delightful prospect of the depen- 
dences of our common nature. In fact it seems that 
mankind forms one compact, indissoluble body, which 
may be represented by the human • frame, which can 
lose none of its members without being rendered maim- 
ed and incomplete. 

It is true the partial system has driven men of dis- 
cerning minds to make calculations, that the eternal 
separation of those, who are in this life united by the 
tenderest ties of our nature, and the indescribable mi- 
sery of children will occasion an increase of the pa- 
rent's happiness, and the endless misery of parents 
will greatly increase the felicity of children in the eter- 
nal world. But it must be acknowledged that such 
arguments are equally as hostile to every good quality 
of man, as the system which they are designed to de- 
fend is to reason and revelation. We say, that men 
of discerning minds have been driven to argue thus, 
for they can discern, that unless this be the case, what 
they call heaven will be a place of the keenest mental 
torment, that can be conceived of. Losing sight of 
nature and of nature's God, and adhearing to their 
partial creed, many contend, that at what they call the 
great day, parents will rejoice to see their offspring 
turned away into the burning lake, while other instan- 
ces will occur, in which children will sing praises to 
God in the highest a; seeing their parents, the inherit- 
ers of unspeakable misery. 

If we can suppress our indignation against such un- 
hallowed cruelty, so as to take a deliberate view of a 
faint simile we may suppose that the sweet slumbers 
of a numerous family are suddenly interrupted by the 
midnight cry of fire. They are roused from sleep amid 
the smoke and flames of their own dwelling ; the fath- 
er and several of the eldest children but just make 
their escape from the devouring element, and leave 
the wife and mother with a number of the children to 
perish in the flames. Now observe, the doctrine which 



164 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

stands opposed to the salvation of all men, and which 
can support itself at no less expense then to enhance 
the felicities of heaven by the miseries of hell, suppos- 
es that the happiness of the husband and father, on 
finding himself safe from the fire, is to be increased 
by his seeing the companion of his bosom, the mother 
of his children, and her little ones in the flames, and 
by hearing their lamentable cries ; and these children 
who made their escape are to possess hearts to rejoice 
to see the mother that watched over their infancy and 
childhood, and their brothers and sisters perishing in 
the most excruciating anguish. 

To wound your feelings with such a simile as this, 
on any ordinary subject would surely require an apolo- 
gy, but in respect to the subject under consideration 
our simile is as dim as the faint glimmer of a dying ta- 
per compared with the concentrated blaze of a thou- 
sand suns. The flames that destroyed the unhappy 
victims were merciful to terminate their sufferings in 
a moment, that nothing but the remembrance of the 
sad catastrophe might remain, but the flames of hell 
and its " lively bright horrors " are supposed to exist 
eternally, to gladden kindred hearts, and to brighten 
the joys of relative spirits forever and ever ! 

To the eye of candid reason, it seems perfectly 
clear, that to make an eternal separation of the human 
family, and to place one part in a state of everlasting 
misery, would render the whole miserable, let the line 
of separation be drawn in one place or another. If 
the division be made according to the doctrine of par- 
tial election, without any regard to the conduct of 
men, the husband may be chosen, and the wife a rep- 
robate ; in another case the wife may be chosen, and 
the husband a reprobate : And this dividing line will 
separate parents from their children, and children from 
each other, and it is as plain as any thing can be that 
if one company is appointed to a state of misery the 
other must be. 

You that are parents, you who are brothers and sis- 
ters are called on to judge of this question. Suppose 
your nearest and dearest connexions, as children ana 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 165 

brethren were prisoners in an enemy's land, and you 
were certified by letters from them, that they were 
treated in the most cruel manner; their lodging the 
cold damp ground, their food scant and unwholesome, 
and that there were no hopes of their ever being releas- 
ed, could you be happy? Without the least commisera- 
tion could you repose on your beds of down, and feast 
yourselves at your sumptuous tables? All this you 
know to be impossible. 

Or suppose this final separation is to be made with 
due reference to the works of men in this world, this 
alters not the case, for we cannot be happy while oui 
connexions suffer even for their faults. 

If we draw a reasonable conclusion from the mani 
fest goodness of Goa to all men, in his temporal provi 
dence, and if we assist this conclusion by the consider- 
ations already suggested of the unity and dependence 
of oui* nature, we must decide in favor of the proposi- 
tion for which we contend ; for it is most unreasona- 
ble indeed to suppose, that the system of the Redeem- 
er's grace, which derives its origin from the same 
source, from whence came every principle of our ex- 
istence and every favor of divine providence, is less 
benevolent in its designs or less efficacious in its 
means. 

We may now notice some of the evidences, which 
support the doctrine of universal grace, found in the 
divine testimony. We say some of the evidences, be- 
cause it would require much time, and superior abili- 
ties to those employed on this occasion to bring the 
whole of this sort of evidence into view. Indeed we 
must be very limited on this part of our subject that 
we may avoid using too many of the passages already 
recited in these lectures for the same purpose, and that 
the hearer's patience be not too much burdened. 

The text under consideration may first be noticed. 
In this passage Jesus promises to draw all men unto 
himself. And his testimony concerning those who 
come to him is as follows : " I am the bread of life ; 
he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that 
believeth on me shall never thirst." By this passage it 



166 

is evident, that by coming to him, and by believing on 
him, Jesus meant the same thing. He farther says ; 
" Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out — 
No man can come to me, except the Father, which 
hath sent me, draw him : and I will raise him up at 
the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they 
shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, 
that, hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh 
unto me." 

By these passages we learn, that the instructions 
and the drawings of the Father, are the only means 
by which men can come to Christ. They furthermore 
teach us, that those who are, by such means, drawn to 
the Saviour will not be cast off. Thus the evidence 
issues in a most direct confirmation* of the proposition 
to be proved. 

St. Paul, in his first epistle to Timothy says, that 
God " will have all men to be saved and to come unto 
the knowledge of the truth." And Jesus said; "I 
came down from heaven ; not to do mine own will, 
but the will of him that sent me." Suppose one of 
you own an hundred sheep, and they all break from 
your enclosure and go astray, they all enter into your 
neighbour's pasture. In room of sending them home, 
he endeavors to retain them, and uses all possible 
means to prevent their return. You direct your shep- 
herd to go and seek and save that which is lost. You 
tell him, that it is your will that he returns the whole ; 
the shepherd is told by your enemy who retains your 
flock that he will give up a few of the sheep, but must 
keep the greatest part. The shepherd replies ; I have 
not come to negociate for the sheep, I have come to 
do the will of him that sent me. How can this will be 
done and yet but a few of these sheep return ? 

The will of God is further expressed by St. Paul, as 
follows; "Having made known unto us the mystery 
of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he 
hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of 
the fulness of times he might gather together in one 
all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and 
which are on earth ; even in him." Again he says ; 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 167 

" Wherefore God also, hath highly exalted him, and 
given him a name which is above every name ; that in 
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in 
heaven and things on earth, nnd things under the 
earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Je- 
sus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
And furthermore he says: " For it pleaseth the Fa- 
ther, that in him should all fulness dwell, (and having 
made peace through the blood of his cross) by him to 
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whe 
th^r they be things on earth, or things in heaven." 
To these we may subjoin the passage we treated of in 
our last lecture ; " And all things are of God, who 
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and 
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, 
that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto him- 
self, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And 
hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's 
stead, be ye reconciled to God : for he hath made him 
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be 
made the righteousness of God in him." If the hear- 
er will allow these and concurrent passages their nat- 
ural agreement and signification they must be consid- 
ered sufficient evidence to prove that the design of the 
Saviour's grace is the salvation of all men. 

Another argument in favor of our proposition, and 
which is thought to be sufficient of itself to establish 
it, is drawn from the revealed fact that it is consistent 
with the holiness of God for him to love sinners and 
to bestow the greatest possible favors upon them. 
The scripture informs us that " God commendeth his 
love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, 
Christ died for us." And again ; " But God, who is 
rich in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved 
us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened 
us together with Christ." Now if it be consistent 
with the holiness of God for him to love those who are 
dead in sin, and to commend his love to such by the 
death of Christ for them, and to quicken them togeth- 



168 BALLOU S LECTURES. 

er with Christ, it proves beyond all controversy that 
sin is no objection to God's granting his grace and sal- 
vation to men. Standing in the light of this glorious 
truth, and feeling the life of the spirit of this grace, 
who can be so hard-hearted as to sentence millions of 
their fellow sinners to endless darkness and wo? In 
this spirit of love and grace it seems the divine Re- 
deemer stood,N when he said ; "And I, if I be lifted up 
from the earth, will draw all men unto me." It is 
granted on all hands, that God can never change ; he 
is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Yesterday 
and to-day he was and is the friend and lover of sin- 
ners. How then is it possible that he should ever 
cease to love these beings and to do them good ? 

This argument provokes the Pharisee to start the 
old trite objection, that the doctrine leads to licentious- 
ness. This objection, though it has been fairly re- 
moved hundreds of times, will never leave the world 
as long as a Pharisee remains in it. If the manifesta- 
tion of the divine love to sinners have a natural ten- 
dency to encourage them in sin, why did God com- 
mend his love unto us, in that while we were yet sin- 
ners, Christ died for us ? Why are those blessings of 
the divine Providence, to which the Saviour adverted 
for proof that God loves his enemies, continually, and 
with such profusion scattered down upon us? Are 
we serving the cause of religion and moral virtue by 
persuading people 10 believe that the goodness of God 
naturally leads men to sin. My brethren, should you 
believe me your friend if I persuaded your children to 
the opinion, that if you love them, notwithstanding 
their faults, it is no matter what they do, and that it is 
even better for them to violate all your wholesome 
laws, and to treat your advice and admonitions with 
contempt ? Surely if there be any such thing as a 
heinous sin in our world, we have it here under con- 
sideration. Because our heavenly Father gives us life 
and all the numerous blessings of life must we improve 
all his favors to dye our souls in the crimson of sin ? 
Because Jesus hath loved us and given himself for us, 
is there no way we can act like reasonable beings only 



BALLOU*S LECTURES. 169 

by hating him and disobeying his commands ? O in- 
gratitude ! legitimate child of the Pharisee, retire,, cold 
and unfeeling, to the frosty bosom from whence thou 
hast come. 

It has already been suggested, that by coming unto 
Christ is meant, being taught of God and believing 
in Christ, and this was seen by the words of Christ; 
and this was seen by the words of Christ in the 6th of 
John, which have been quoted. They therefore, who 
come to Jesus, come to him in their understanding; 
they receive him as their prophet to teach them, their 
priest, who offered himself for the sinner, without spot 
unto God, and as a king to rule them. The blessings 
enjoyed in consequence of coming to Christ are ex- 
pressed in his most gracious words, recorded m Matt, 
xi. ; " Come unto rne, all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon 
you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in 
heart ; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." How lovely 
does the Saviour appear in his gracious invitations and 
promises. He invites all to come to him ; he promises 
to draw all men to him ; he promises to give them all 
rest and an easy service ; he promises that he will in no 
wise cast any out. 

Well did the dear Redeemer say ; " I will draw all 
men unto me. The doctrine of Jesus is perfectly 
calculated to draw men. It holds up to view those 
virtues and those advantages which are powerful at- 
tractions. In the passage just recited, those who are 
heavy laden are promised rest. What can be more 
inviting to any who have for a long time labored 
under an intolerable burden, than an opportunitv 
to cast it off, and to enjoy rest ? Suppose men were 
in bondage and hard servitude, as were the Israelites 
in Egypt, oppressed with severe taskmasters and made 
to serve with the most cruel rigor ; and a humane, 
benevolent prince should ransom them all, and invite 
them into his country, where they should have all things 
they wanted without money and without price, where 
no law but the perfect law of liberty exists, where they 
15 



170 BALLOU'S LECTURES 

would have no service to perform but such in which 
they should have perfect delight and freedom, would 
not a clear manifestation of these facts draw them away 
from the tyrant to their kind deliverer and Saviour ? 
Would it be necessary to threaten them, and 
preach up terror to them ? Would it be proper to 
tell them that the person who had ransomed them 
would come and put them to the most cruel tortures 
if they did not immediately enter into his service ? 
Under all these circumstances, would it be neces- 
sary to tell these miserable wretches, that it is true 
their present services are very light, merely noth- 
ing in comparison with the service of the prince who 
had purchased them, but then this prince would pun- 
ish them all with the most cruel tortures if they should 
not enter his service without delay ? If any thing 
could possibly operate to deceive these redeemed 
ones, and to keep them in slavery it must be some 
such deceit. As certain as they should be made to 
believe such falsehoods, they would make nice calcula- 
tions not to go into the hated service any sooner than 
just to escape the tortures threatened. But suppose 
they should go to this person in consequence of these 
threatenings, they would not be drawn, they would 
be driven. Jesus did not say, I will drive all men to 
me. If we were to judge by some preaching that we 
hear, we should suppose the preachers were sent to 
drive us to heaven, in the greatest haste too, for fear 
our Redeemer would destroy us ? 

The Saviour says in the 6th of John, as before quot- 
ed ; ;< I am the bread of life ; he that cometh to me 
shall never hunger." What is more drawing to the 
destitute, foodless poor than the gladsome news of 
bread, without money and without price? Suppose 
such a famine as was in Egypt and all the countries 
round about it should visit the United States, the pro- 
visions of the land, after the most prudent measures 
had been taken, is nearly exhausted, pale hunger makes 
its appearance on all faces, and the wisest know of no 
relief; at this awful crisis a large fleet from a foreign 
country arrives with vast quantities of bread as a pres- 



171 

ent to us ! how would it draw the people. In what 
crowds would they rush along the streets ; how would 
every eye and every countenance brighten with glad- 
ness. In such a circumstance as this what should we 
think of a man who should come forward and say ; 
" I am sent by the monarch who has sent you bread, 
to warn you to apply immediately for his bounty that 
you may escape his vengeance ? And what should we 
think of the people who should spend their time to 
hear these terrors proclaimed ? In such a time of fa- 
vor and rejoicing, would it be seemly to stop the hun- 
gry and tell them they have no right to the free boun- 
ty that has arrived unless they really believe in this act 
of goodness ? Would it be thought indispensably ne- 
cessary to have a creed written, with well studied ar- 
ticles to the number of thirty-nine, for the people all 
to learn by heart before they should be allowed to 
taste the bread of life ? Would it be treating those, 
who were fainting for want of food, according to the 
benevolent designs of the gracious donor of these am- 
ple provisions, to prevent their receiving this unpur- 
chased, unconditional favor, by suggesting conditions, 
terms, and articles of faith to be complied with and 
believed? Suppose the articles are all made out 
according to the wisdom of him, who urges their 
necessity, but the people cannot understand them. 
Some are mysterious, some are in direct opposition 
to others ; one explains them in one way ; and an- 
other explains them in another way, many profess to 
believe them because they are told that they cannot 
obtain favor unless they do. Those who should be- 
lieve in this case might believe themselves to death, 
and close their eyes without seeing the salvation which 
mercy had sent them : others, whose minds should re- 
volt at a creed which contains contradictions, would 
be turned away as Unbelievers, and fare no better than 
those who believe. 

Jesus says ; " If any man thirst let him come unto me 
and drink." The unfortunate, who have suffered hun- 
ger and thirst in sultry climes, inform us the want of 
drink is vastly moie severe than the want of food 



172 BALLOU'S LECTURES, 

Here then the merciful Saviour makes use of a simile 
which gives the most striking idea of his goodness. 
Of a number of faint, weary, hungry, and thirsty pil- 
grims, on burning sands, if one should cry out to his 
fellows, here is water ! How quickly would it draw 
them all together. 

The prophet Isaiah, speaking of Jesus, says ; " A 
man shall be an hiding place from the wind, and a 
covert from the tempest; as a river of water in a dry 
place : as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." 
How very inviting, how attracting how drawing are 
the favors here noticed. The beasts of the field 
and the fowls of the air seek these favors. When 
storms and winds beat on them, they seek a shelter ; 
when they are thirsty you find them by the streams ; 
and when a sultry sun is vehement you find them in 
the shade. Do you ask what these things mean ? Do 
you inquire how you can obtain so great a favor ? The 
word is nigh thee, even in thy heart and in thy mouth. 
Jesus is made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi- 
cation, and redemption. To be drawn to Christ is to 
be drawn into wisdom, whose ways are pleasantness 
and all her paths are peace. It is to be drawn into 
righteousness, which is heaven. It is to be drawn into 
sanctification, which is holiness. It is to be drawn 
into redemption, which is freedom from the law of sin 
and death. O Jesus, how great is thy promise ! Thou 
wilt draw all men unto thyself. Then shall every crea- 
ture which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under 
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all which are 
in them ; say, blessing and honnor, and glory, and 
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb forever and ever. 



LECTURE XIII. 

CHRIST SOWING THE GOOD SEED, IN TEARS. 

PSALM cxxvi. 6. 

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall, doubtless, 
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. 

Divine wisdom has seen fit, that the commence- 
ment of those affairs which are designed to terminate 
in great and extensive blessings to mankind, should be 
distinguished for the hardships, painful labors, extreme 
difficulties, privations, uncommon sufferings, sorrow 
and tears which attend them. This remark will be 
found to be, generally, appropriate, whether applied 
to political or religious concerns, and is often justified 
by the experience of individuals. This sentiment seems 
symbolically expressed in our text and its introduction. 
To represent the reverse of condition which Zion ex- 
perienced by a deliverance from captivity, the prophet 
says ; " When the Lord turned again the captivity of 
Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our 
mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with sing- 
ing : then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath 
done great things for them. The Lord hath done 
great things for us, whereof we are glad. Turn again 
our captivity, Lord, as the streams in the south. 
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that go- 
eth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed shall, 
doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing his 
sheaves with him.'' 

From the scanty portion of grain, on which the hus- 
bandman depends to bread his dependent family, he 
takes a selected portion, and having with much labor 
prepared his field, he commits the precious seed to the 
15* 



174 

bosom of the earth. His fears anticipate drought, 
blasts, and mildews ; his hope endures, as seeing things 
that are invisible, and locks forward to the time when 
heaven shall reward his toils with a joyful harvest, and 
return him thirty, sixty or an hundred fold. The au- 
tumn comes and brings the golden harvest, and plenty 
calls for songs of gratitude and joy. But to the eye 
of inexperience how mysterious would this appear. 
The portion of bread corn is already scant, and the 
husband of a numerous family takes part of this and 
buries it in the earth. It appears as an unreasonable 
waste. Thus we frequently judge of the ways of di- 
vine Providence ; and are led to say, if God were good 
to his creatures, why should such and such things be 
permitted to wound our tenderest feelings? Why 
should such sorrows be sent as the inheritance of the 
oppressed, the innocent, and the defenceless ? Not 
being able to see the end from the beginning of events, 
we are often misguided in judgment, and entertain 
doubts of the divine goodness towards us. But could 
we comprehend the mysterious wisdom of God by 
which he turns every thing to the good of hir creatures, 
causing light afflictions, which are but for a moment, 
to work for us an exceeding weight of glory, we should 
at once conclude, that the measure of evil endured by 
the creatures of God, is as nothing when compared 
with the glory that shall be revealed in us, and which 
can be traced back to those afflictions, which, during 
their continuance, were grievous. 

These introductory observation seem to lead the 
mind into an extensive field, where an infinite variety 
of objects invite our attention to the contemplation of 
the wisdom and goodness of God, in causing light to 
shine out of darkness, order to grow out of what ap- 
pears to us confusion, peace of mind from sorrow of 
heart, tranquillity out of trouble, prosperity out of ad- 
versity, in a word, good from what we call evil, strength 
from weakness and glory from shame. But keeping 
in mind that proper limits must bound the labors of a 
lecture, the audience is invited to contemplate our sub- 
ject as manifested in the Saviour of mankind 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 175 

Jesus went forth in our world weeping, bearing 
and sowing precious seed, and he shall doubtless come 
again, rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. He 
sowed in tears, he shall reap in joy ; he shall see of the 
travail of his soul and be satisfied. 

Our first inquiry will be directed to notice the occa- 
sion of our Saviour's tears. 

Jesus was possessed of the sensibilities and sympa- 
thies of our nature in their purity and perfection, which 
caused him to feel the afflictions of the afflicted, the 
sorrows of the sorrowful, and the distress of the dis- 
tressed. Many proofs of this are found in the his- 
tory of the Saviour. We may notice him at Bethany, 
where he raised Lazarus from the dead. Notwith- 
standing he knew what he was about to do, and that 
Lazarus would in a few minutes be a living man, to 
the astonishment and joy of his weeping sisters, such 
was the tenderness of his heart that when he saw the 
Jews, who had come to comfort the bereaved sisters, 
weeping, and the two disconsolate sisters weeping, he 
himself groaned in spirit, and wept with them. Let 
those who mourn remember this, and realize that their 
sorrows are duly noticed by him who is the resurrec- 
tion and the life, who hath the keys of hell and death. 
That power of life and salvation, which gloriously tri 
umphed at the tomb of him who had been dead four 
days, is still the same, and has given assurance, that as 
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. 

On that most joyful occasion of the entrance of Je- 
sus into Jerusalem, riding upon an ass, when the peo- 
ple in vast multitudes welcomed the King of Zion, 
and praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty 
works they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King that 
cometh in the name of the Lord ; peace in heaven, 
and glory in the highest ; the blessed Jesus, in room 
of being elated with these tokens of submission and 
expressions of joy — in room of participating the exceed- 
ing gladness of the people, his mind seemed intent on 
a very different subject, the account of which is as fol- 
lows : " And when he came near he beheld the city, 



176 BALLOU's LECTURES. 

and wept over it saying, if thou hadst known, even thou 
at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto 
thy peace I but now they are hid from thine eyes. For 
the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall 
cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and 
keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even 
with the ground, and thy children within thee ; and 
they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another ; 
because thou knewest not the time of thy visita- 
tion." 

Having a clear view of the sword, the famine and 
the pestilence which would surely come on Jerusa- 
lem, and knowing that the youth who were then in 
the days of their innocence, would be the sufferers 
in this calamity, the Saviour was deeply affected, and 
wept. 

Suppose you, who love the town of Boston for a 
thousand reasons, which we have not time to name, 
should be certified by a divine communication, that 
this metropolis should, within forty years, suffer all the 
dreadful calamities of a long siege, attended with fam- 
ine and pestilence, with factions within, which should 
waste the strength and the blood of the inhabitants, 
until the place should be given up to an enraged ene- 
my, that should have no mercy on those who should 
fall into their hands, could your eyes look on the state- 
ly, magnificent buildings, knowing they would all be 
leveled with the ground, could they behold the lovely 
youth, who now make such a charming appearance in 
these streets and churches, without weeping? Such 
was the occasion of those tears which the compassion- 
ate Jesus shed over the devoted city of his father Da- 
vid. He looked on that pride and joy of the earth, 
he beheld the temple of God, that wonder of the world, 
he knew that the time of their destruction was within 
that generation ; his gracious eyes beheld the lovely 
youth whose thousands then adorned the venerable hab- 
itations of their ancestors, and knew that they would 
be the distressed sufferers in the calamities to which 
that nation and city were appointed. 

When he was going to Calvary to suffer death 



BALLOTj's LECTURES. 177 

from the wicked hands of the people, who by their 
persecutions of him and his disciples were filling up 
the measure of their sins, he was evidently more con- 
cerned for the sufferings that people were bringing on 
themselves and on their children, than for what he 
himself was about to endure. When he saw the great 
company of people, and of women, who followed him 
lamenting his fate, he turned and said unto them, 
" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep 
for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, 
the days are coming in the which they shall say, bless- 
ed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and 
the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they be- 
gin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, 
cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, 
what shall be done in the dry ? " 

If the hearer will indulge a digression in this place, 
liberty will be taken to remark on two particulars. 
First, it does not appear, from the Saviour's speech 
here recited, that his own sufferings were of that kind 
or degree that has been represented by christian doc- 
tors. They have supposed that the sufferings of Christ 
were far beyond any possible comparison, even great- 
er than we can conceive, and that this rendered them 
efficacious with his Father to procure our pardon of 
sin. Now if his sufferings were so immense, why should 
he represent to the daughters of Jerusalem that they 
had more reason to weep for themselves and their 
children, than for him? 

Secondly, it does not appear that the Saviour 
thought of the subject, which has been the weighty 
burden of those minds, who have consigned the inhab- 
itants of Jerusalem to everlasting misery in the future 
world ; for he spake of nothing but of their sufferings 
in this life. If it had been known to Jesus, that all 
the sufferings which that people was appointed to en- 
dure in the destructions that he denounced upon them, 
were nothing in comparison with what they must suf- 
fer in another world, why did he, when he wept over 
Jerusalem, speak of the destruction of that city and its 
inhabitants by the hand of their enemies, and neglect 



178 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

to say any thing on the subject of their future suffer- 
ings, which were to be infinitely greater ? The can- 
dor of the hearer will do justice to these remarks, while 
we return to our subject. 

The prophet Isaiah represents our Saviour a man 
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He grieved and 
wept for the afflictions and sufferings of mankind ; he 
felt the woes of human nature ; he bore their sicknesses 
and carried their sorrows, but the angel of his presence 
upheld him ; he was touched with the feelings of all 
our infirmities. 

The superstition, the bigotry, and the traditions of 
the people wherewith they made void the law of God, 
and the hardness of their hearts were a peculiar cause 
of his grief* Such was their blindness that his mira- 
cles could not open their eyes ; and such was the hard- 
ness of their hearts that his love, pity and mercy did 
not soften them. What stubborn, unyielding and for- 
bidding ground was this ! There was but here and 
there a spot where the precious seed that he sowed 
could be received into good ground, and promise a fu- 
ture harvest. 

We may now direct our attention to inquire what 
seed the Saviour sowed, and to ascertain its precious 
qualities. 

In the 13th chapter of Matthew, Jesus represents 
himself as a sower, who went forth to sow ; " And, 
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side, and 
the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell up- 
on stony places, where they had not much earth ; and 
forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deep- 
ness of earth: and when the sun was up they were 
scorched ; and, because they had no root, they with- 
ered away. And some fell among thorns ; and the 
thorns sprung up and choked them. But others fell 
into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an 
hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold." In 
the same chapter he says ; " He that soweth the good 
seed is the Son of man." Again, he signifies that by 
seed he means the u word of the kingdom." And 
furthermore he represents the kingdom of heaven by 



BALLOlf's LECTURES. 179 

|C a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sow- 
ed in his field." It is evident by these scripture, that 
Jesus represented his doctrine by "good seed." The 
doctrine of Christ is, therefore, our present subject. 

Here it is worthy of notice, that the great teacher 
sent of God, though he taught a doctrine which was 
very different from that which was taught by the doc- 
tors of his day, was never the author of a set of arti- 
cles of faith called a creed. And it is likewise of im- 
portance to notice, that in this, his Apostles faithfully 
followed his example. The work of framing creeds is 
the invention of men. 

Jesus founded his doctrine and all he came to do, 
on the divine character and will of his Father. He 
said ; " I came down from heaven, not to do mine own 

will : but the will of him that sent me. God sent 

not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but 

that the world through him might be saved. The 

Son of man came not to call the righteous, but sinners 

to repentance. The Son of man came to seek and 

to save that which was lost." 

By these precious sayings of Jesus we are certified 
that God is merciful to sinners, wills their salvation, 
and sent his Son for this very purpose. 

In the 5th of Matthew, Jesus sets forth his precious 
doctrine in the plainest terms possible, as follows ; "I 
say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse 
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
which despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that 
ye may be the children of your Father which is in hea- 
ven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on 
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 
For if ye love them which love you, what reward 
have ye ? Do not even the publicans the same ? And if 
ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than 
others ? Do not even the publicans so ? Be ye there- 
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect." 

By this most precious testimony we are assured that 
our Father who is in heaven loves his enemies : and 
we are furthermore certified that we are required to 



180 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

do the same. How many articles of faith is it neces- 
sary to arrange, in order to comprehend this subject ? 
How long is it necessary for a good scholar and a 
bright genius to spend at a theological school in order 
to understand this doctrine ? It pains the speaker to 
the heart, that he is obliged to say, that theological 
schools are employed in teaching youth how to 
evade the plain testimony of Jesus, and how to keep 
the people from receiving it. 

In the 15th of Luke, the Saviour sets forth his doc- 
trine of salvation in three parables. He was induced 
to do this in reply to the Pharisees and Scribes, who 
murmured at him because he received sinners and ate 
with them. In the first parable he represents sinners 
and their salvation by a lost sheep, which the owner 
seeks, finds, and carries home ; in the second, by a 
piece of money which a woman lost, sought and found. 
He furthermore represents the angels in heaven re- 
joicing more over one sinner that repenteth, than over 
ninety and nine just persons who need no repent- 
ance ; and in the last he sets forth the return of sin- 
ners to God by the return of the prodigal son to his 
father. 

This sower of the precious seed of the kingdom of 
God, was particular in planting the doctrine cf the 
divine goodness ; and in order to hand it to us in the 
most acceptable manner, he says ; " If ye, then, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven 
give good things to them that ask him ? " 

Nothing can be more evident, than that our heaven- 
ly Father is more kind to us, who are evil, than we 
are to our children, according to this precious testimo- 
ny of our Saviour. This is precious seed in very deed. 
It is precious beyond all comparison. This declara- 
tion of him, who went forth weeping, bearing precious 
seed, is of more value than all the bodies of divinity 
which have been written since the enemy sowed tares 
among the wheat. 

Let us ask ourselves, notwithstanding we are evil, 
and too frequently err in our conduct towards our 



BALLOTS LECTURES. 181 

children, could we possibly consign our dependent 
offspring to endless torments for their childish faults ? 
And yet such is the common doctrine taught by the 
creeds of men, that little children are instructed to re- 
peat sentences which teach them to believe that their 
heavenly Father will torture millions of his creatures, 
in never ending misery ! How painful is the thought, 
that such a sentiment shoulo\ be imprinted in the 
tender minds of our innocent children, concerning 
whom Jesus said ; " Suffer little children, and forbid 
them not, to come unto me ; for of such is the kingdom 
of heaven." O how precious is this kind declaration 
of the Saviour, to parents ! This is the testimony of 
him, who is now at the right hand of God. Compare 
these words of Jesus with the popular doctrine of the 
total depravity of infants, and of hell's containing mil- 
lions of them, who never saw the light of the sun I 

Such is the vast importance of the comparison here 
suggested, that the candid attention of the audience is 
invited to consider the following question ; If the tes- 
timony of Jesus concerning little children be both true 
and precious, is not the opinion that little children 
are totally depraved, and are heirs of eternal misery, 
false and impure ? This false doctrine belongs to the 
tares, which the enemy sowed among the wheat. Jesus 
never sowed such seed ; he never uttered any thing 
so dishonorable to God, nor did he ever plant such 
a thorn to torture the feelings of affectionate parents. 
The doctrine of Jesus is the doctrine of love. The 
doctrines of men are the doctrines of hatred. The 
doctrine of Jesus teaches that God loves his enemies, 
wills their salvation, and sent his Son to save them. 
The doctrines of men teach that God hates his enemies 
and will punish them eternally. The doctrine of Jesus 
informs us that he came to call sinners to repentance. 
The doctrines of men assert that the finally impenitent 
will be made forever miserable, but Jesus never spake 
of the " finally impenitent." The doctrine of Jesus 
teaches the forgiveness of sin. The doctrines of men 
require a sacrifice to appease the divine wrath. The 
doctrine of Jesus informs ns, that he will draw all men 
16 



182 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

unto himself. The doctrines of men assert, that God 
has decreed but a part to be drawn to Christ. The 
doctrine of Jesus informs us that all things are given to 
him. The doctrines of men assert, that but a few are 
given to Christ. The doctrine of Jesus is precious 
wheat ; but the doctrines of men are tares which are 
to be consumed by the fire of truth and love. 

There are several particulars respecting the pre- 
ciousness of the doctrine of Jesus, which are worthy 
of special notice ; some of which we shall here men- 
tion. 

First. This doctrine is from God. Jesus says : " My 
doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." The Cre- 
ator, Ruler and Disposer of all things has sent us a 
communication of his divine will and fixed purpose 
concerning us. This doctrine being from the high- 
est authority in the universe must be considered pre- 
cious. 

Secondly. In all respects, this doctrine is most favor- 
able to mankind. There is no particular part that can 
be altered for the better. Let the most wise and pru- 
dent undertake to add any thing to this doctrine and 
they make it worse. Let them take any thing from it 
and they leave it not so good. 

Thirdly. It is most precious on account of its sim- 
plicity and perspicuity. It is rendered so visible in 
the divine testimony, that any attempt to explain it 
tends to render it obscure. If one should attempt to 
show us the sun in a clear day by holding a candle 
before our eyes, it would obscure our vision, and tend 
to hide from our sight what is already as visible as it 
can be. Such are the effects of the wisdom of this 
world when employed to show us that light which 
shines in the "face of Jesus." 

Fourthly. This doctrine of the New-Testament is 
life. It is the bread of God which giveth life to the 
world. St. Paul says ; " God hath made useable min- 
isters of the New-Testament, not of the letter, but of 
the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth 
life." There is no death in the doctrine of Jesus. 
Peter said ; " thou hast the words of eternal life." 



183 

Fifthly, It is universal. It is the same to all men. 
Jesus has but one doctrine for every creature under 
heaven ; and this doctrine is calculated to gather to- 
gether all things in one, even in Christ. There is no 
particular view of the doctrine of Jesus, in which it 
appears more precious, than in its universality. 
Though the sun be most precious in its light and 
heat even to an individual, how glorious is the thought 
that this light and this heat are universal. And though 
these life-giving qualities are dispensed through every 
degree of latitude and longitude round the globe, every 
one has enough. So it is with that " true light that 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world." If a 
few astronomers, who should study the laws of the 
heavenly bodies, should frame a creed embracing the 
most essential particulars in the phenomena of the sun, 
and then require every one, learned and unlearned, to 
believe in their creed as a condition by which they 
might obtain its light, they would discover as much true 
philosophy as those, who stile themselvs divines, do of 
divinity, in framing their creeds, and requiring our 
assent to them, that we may obtain the favour of God. 

Sixthly, This doctrine is most precious, because it is 
always the same. It is now what it was in the begin- 
ning, it is now what it will be when thousands of 
ages shall have passed away. The same love, the same 
mercy, the same good will of our heavenly Father, in 
which the most enlightened now rejoice, have, in all 
ages of the world, been in full exercise towards man- 
kind ; nor can they ever relax, but will forever con- 
tinue. 

And seventhly, This precious doctrine of the love of 
God is calculatd to transform every rational being into 
its own nature and to render every man precious like 
itself. " Every man that hath this hope in him purifi- 

eth himself, even as he is pure. Now are we the 

sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall 
be, but we know, that when he appeareth we shall be 
like him, for we shall see him as he is." In this way 
the fruits of the precious doctrine of the Saviour will 



184 

finally produce the joyful harvest contemplated in ou 
text, and will load, with ripe sheaves, the blessed Re- 
deemer of the world, who in sorrow went forth and 
sowed his precious seed. 

When the fulness of the different times, which in- 
tervene between seed-time and harvest, have passed 
away, and the hand of labor is abundantly rewarded 
with a plenteous harvest, then the husbandman reali- 
zes the end of his toils, and comes from his field, re 
joicing, bringing his sheaves with him. So, when the 
fulness of times shall have passed away, for the perfect- 
ing of the work of the gospel ministry, he that sowed 
in tears shall reap in joy. All shall know the Lord 
from the least to the greatest ; and the knowledge of 
God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. 

As the husbandman, who commits the precious 
wheat to the bosom of the earth, and waits for the ear- 
ly and the latter rains, receives to his full satisfaction 
the plenteous harvest, so we are certified that Jesus 
shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. 
the blessed assurance ! Shall Jesus, who sowed in 
tears reap as large a harvest as will fill his vast desires ? 
Yes, " for by his knowledge shall my righteous servant 
justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." Jesus 
" gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due 
time." He will never be satisfied until his " ransomed 
shall all return and come to Zion with songs, and 
everlasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain 
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away." 

Every convert to God, every ransomed soul that 
returns and comes to Zion, brings a ripe sheaf of the 
precious grain of love to God and love to man, which 
Jesus sowed in tears. It should be distinctly understood, 
that the design of the Saviour in sowing the good seed 
in the world, was that it might bring forth the fruit of 
righteousness. 

Here then let us examine the argument which the 
doctrine of limited salvation urges against the final hap- 
piness of all men. The argument is this ; It is not 



185 

right in the sight of God, to bestow the same felicity 
on the wicked, as he does on the righteous. This is 
our opposer's argument, but we say it does not, in the 
least, affect the merits of the subject. This objection 
only shows that the opposer is totally ignorant of what 
he endeavors to disprove. The question is, is it just 
and right in the sight of God to bring sinners to repent- 
ance, and convert the ungodly to holiness ? This is 
the question, and our opposer ought to understand it; 
for if he could see that, in order to disprove the doc- 
trine for which we contend, he must show that it is not 
right to convert the sinner to God, he would cease to 
oppose. 

Jesus said, as has been before noticed, " that he came 
to call sinners to repentance." St. Paul says, " This is 
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of 
whom I am chief." But let us keep in mind, that Je- 
sus saves his people from their sins ; not in their sins, 
as our opposers seem to insinuate that we believe. 

There are two particulars respecting the harvest 
under consideration, which may be distinctly noti- 
ced. 

First. The quality of the grain to be gathered in. 
This is righteousness. " Such as a man sows, such 
shall he also reap." Jesus sowed the doctrine of love, 
of faith, of repentance, of hope, of charity, of forgive- 
ness, of doing to others as we would that they should 
do to us ; such will he reap. Had he sown the doc- 
trine of eternal hatred, final impenitence, endless en- 
mity, death and condemnation, he would expect to 
reap a harvest of the same kind. Those who preach 
such doctrines now, expect to see such a harvest, and 
they very often speak of the tremendous day, when 
the ripe sheaves will be gathered in. But who will 
come rejoicing bringing in such a harvest ? 

Secondly. The extent of the harvest is a subject 
that claims our notice. Jesus represented the future 
extent of his doctrine, by the parable of the mustard- 
seed, " which a man took and sowed in his field; 
16* 



186 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

which indeed is the least of all seeds ; but when it is 
grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a 
tree ; so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the 
branches thereof." Also, by the parable of the leaven, 
" which a woman took and hid in three measures of 
meal, till the whole was leavened.'' There is a beau- 
tiful indication of the same in the 72d Psalm, as fol- 
lows : " There shall be an handful of corn in the earth 
upon the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall 
shake like Lebanon ; and they of the city shall flourish 
like grass of the earth." Isaiah says, " Thy people 
shall be all righteous." And speaking of the Prince 
of Peace, he says ; " Of the increase of his government 
and peace there shall be no end." David says, "All 
kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall 
serve him — All the ends of the world shall remember, 
and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the 
nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom 
is the Lord's ; and he is the governor among the na- 
tions." This extensive harvest was seen by St. John, 
on the isle of Patmos, as he thus describes : " I be- 
held, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could 
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the 
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
hands ; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation 
to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb." This is the rejoicing of the extensive 
harvest. And though this vast multitude of all na- 
tions, &c. were seen together, there were " white 
robes " enough for them all. 

My hearers — You were all seen in this vision ; the 
robe of righteousness is ready for you. The time will 
come when every knee shall bow, and every tongue 
confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Fa- 
ther. 

Though the mustard-seed was despised when the 
Saviour planted it, and though it lie a long time in 
the earth, its glory will unfold, and its increase shall 



BALLOTj's LECTURES. 187 

satisfy the capacious desires of him who came to call 
sinners to repentance. 
Dr. Watts says ; 

" Though seed lie buried long in dust, 
It shan't deceive their hope ! 
The precious grain can ne'er be lost, 
For grace insures the crop " 



LECTURE XIV. 

ENTERING INTO LIFE MAIMED ; AND BEING CAST INTO 
HELL. 

MARK ix. 43, 44. 

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life 
maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall 
be quenched ; where their worm dietli not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Some of the motives which have inclined the speak- 
er to call the attention of this audience to the consid- 
eration of this portion of divine truth are the fol- 
lowing: 

1. There is, perhaps, no passage in the scriptures, 
that has been more commonly used to lead the minds 
of people to believe in the doctrine of endless misery, 
and to be exercised with the fear of such a state, 
than this. And as one of the objects of these lec- 
tures is to disprove such a doctrine, and to show that 
the passages, which are usually quoted in its support, 
are misapplied, it seems proper to notice this pas- 
sage in a way to show the error of its common use. 
And, 

2. That the opportunity may be embraced to en- 
force the argument of the text to induce the mind 
to submit to any privations, which are necessary 
to the discharge of that christian obedience by 
which we enter into the spiritual life of the spirit of 
truth. 

We may, in the first place, institute an inquiry, di 
rected to satisfy the mind respecting the usual appli 
cation of this scripture to a future state of endless 
misery. 

In giving to this inquiry such a form as may tend to 



189 

facilitate a judicious conclusion, the following things 
are premised ; 

1. The testimony, by which any fact is to be proved, 
should be of one who knows the thing to be a reality, 
to which he bears such testimony. 

2. In a case where testimony is all the evidence that 
can be had, this testimony should be of such a charac- 
ter as to admit of no reasonable doubt respecting its 
true application. 

3. It is indispensable, that testimony, by which the 
belief of any proposition is to be established should be 
entirely free from any contradictions. And, 

4. It is moreover proper to observe, that in propor- 
tion to the greatness of the subject, on which we are 
called to form a judgment, what has been premised 
enforces its claims on the mind. 

As to the magnitude of the subject, which is now 
called in question, nothing exceeds it. The doctrine 
which asserts, that mankind are to suffer unspeakable 
torments to all future eternity is a subject, that justly 
requires as direct and clear evidence as any nameable 
case whatever. 

With the foregoing considerations impressed on our 
minds, let us examine the words of our text with the 
design to ascertain the truth concerning this vast ques- 
tion. " And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; it is 
better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having 
two hands, to be cast into hell, into the fire that never 
shall be quenched ; where their worm dieth not, and 
the fire is not quenched." — This is the testimony on 
which the doctrine of eternal, never-ending misery is 
founded. The hearer is most earnestly requested to 
lay aside all prepossession on this subject, and investi- 
gate it with as much caution as the interest which we 
all have in the subject demands. 

1. Let us ask, is there in this passage any thing 
that goes to prove that its author was speaking of what 
is to take place in a future state of being ? Most 
certainly, without a doubt, replies the believer in end- 
less punishment, for Jesus here speaks of being cast 
into hell ; and surely hell is not in this world. My 



190 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

dear friend, I humbly asked you to lay aside all pre- 
possessions on this subject ; but in room of this, your 
answer is the production of prejudice. Did this faith- 
ful and true witness ever say that hell is not in this 
world ? Ts it asserted in our text, that this hell is in a 
future state of existence ? Both these questions must 
be answered in the negative. Will our opposer say, 
that the whole testimony of scripture must be admitted 
in this case, and that we must learn where hell is, and 
what it is, by the united testimony of inspired writers ? 
To this we agree at once. The prophet David says ; 
" Great is thy mercy toward me ; and thou hast deliv- 
ered my soul from the lowest hell." Again he says ; 
" The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains 
of hell gat hold upon me ; I found trouble and sorrow." 
Jonah says ; I cried by reason of mine affliction unto 
the Lord, and he heard me ; out of the belly of hell 
cried I, and thou heardest my voice." Now as certain 
as David and Jonah were in this world, when they 
thus spake, so certain it is, that in the days of these 
prophets, hell was in this world. Why might it not be 
in this world in the days our Saviour was on the earth? 

It appears evident, from the passages just quoted, 
that a state of extreme trouble and affliction is, in the 
language of scripture, called hell. Therefore, in order 
to justify the application of this word to a state of pun- 
ishment in a future world, there must be a declaration 
directly to that effect ; but there is no part of the text 
under consideration that can in any way answer such 
a purpose. 

2. Will it be contended, that as the Saviour said ; 
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched," he must necessarily mean to speak of a 
future endless torment ? To this we reply ; as it has 
already been agreed, that the scriptures must be taken 
in their connexion, and their united testimony admit- 
ted in this inquiry, it seems most proper to connect 
these words of our Saviour with a similar passage in 
the 66th of Isaiah, which reads thus; " For as the new 
heavens, and the new earth, which I have made, shall 
remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall youi seed 



BALLOU's LECTURES. 191 

and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, 
that from one new moon to another, and from one 
sabbath to another, shall all flesh corne to worship be- 
fore me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, 
and look upon the carcasses of the men that have 
transgressed against me : for their worm shall not die, 
neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall 
be an abhorring unto all flesh." 

By this passage the case is perfectly clear that the 
worm, and the fire that is not quenched are in this 
state of existence, where times of worship are measur- 
ed by new moons and by sabbaths. And there can 
be no doubt but the Saviour, in our text had his eye 
on this passage in Isaiah, and spake of the same sub- 
ject. 

We will now allow the objector liberty to say, that 
it is evident that the passage in Isaiah alludes to the 
time of the new heavens, and the new earth, which 
must refer to a future state. 

We reply to the objector, in this case, and say ; 
" Ye greatly err, not knowing the scriptures," for the 
prophet in his 65th chapter speaks as follows ; " Be- 
hold I create new heavens, and a new earth ; and the 
former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 
But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I 
create ; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, 
and her people a joy — And they shall build houses, 
and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, 
and eat the fruit of them." Will houses be built, 
and vineyards be planted in a future world ? No ; 
all these scriptures evidently regard things which be- 
long to our present state of mortal existence. 

By a careful comparison of the passages to which we 
have referred, and by taking into the connexion one in 
St. Peter, and another in Revelations, on the subject 
of the new heavens, and new earth, and on the new 
Jerusalem, it appears clear that those scriptures were 
designed to represent the gospel dispensation. St. 
Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, who understood 
the language of Isaiah, says to the believers in Jesus* 
" Ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city ot 



192 

the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." He does not 
say, that they will get to this heavenly Jerusalem in a 
future world, but he tells them, that that they have 
already come to it. 

But what does Isaiah mean by saying ; " They shall 
go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that 
have transgressed against me ; for their worm shall not 
die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall 
be an abhorring unto all flesh ?" 

Reply — By all flesh, no doubt, the prophet meant 
the Gentiles of different nations who should come into 
the gospel church and covenant ; and by the men that 
transgressed against the Lord, he meant the Jews who 
rejected their Messiah. These Jews are represented 
as tormented with a gnawing worm and a perpetual 
fire, and to be an abhorring to the Christian church of 
Gentiles. 

These remarks seem to bring us directly to the 
meaning of our text. "It is better for thee to ente 
into life maimed, than, having two hands, to be cast in- 
to hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched ; 
where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quench- 
ed." That is, than to be cast into the state of con- 
demnation and outer darkness, w 7 here there shall be 
weeping'and gnashing of teeth, into which the Jews 
who reject the gospel will be cast. 

Will it now be asked, what will become of those Is- 
raelites who rejected the Messiah and have been cast 
into this state of condemnation ? Let St. Paul give 
the answer; " Blindness in part is happened to Israel 
until the fulness of the gentiles be come in, and so all 
Israel shall be saved." 

As it has been premised that the testimony by which 
a belief in a proposition is to be established, must be 
free from contradiction, before we can allow that the 
doctrine of endless misery is proved by the scriptures, 
they must be found entirely free from any declarations 
to the contrary. 

St. Paul informs us, that God " will have all men 
to be saved," and that Jesus "gave himself a ransom 
for all" men. Now if God's will and the Saviour's ran 



193 

som finally fail of their object, what can we prove from 
the scriptures ? If those whom God wills to save, and 
whom the Saviour ransomed are to be miserable eter- 
nally, who are to be saved ? 

The fact is, there is no such testimony in the scrip- 
tures, which can, with the least degree of fairness be 
applied to a state of never-ending misery ; and in fact 
if there were any such testimony in the scriptures, yet 
it could not prove the proposition, so long as there re- 
main so many positive declarations against it. 

Moreover, we feel it to be a duty to state, that in 
room of straining particular passages, which speak of 
the punishment of the wicked, so as to favor the idea 
of unlimited punishment, we should feel justified in 
restraining any passage, could such be found, that 
should seem to favor an opinion so dishonorable to God, 
and so revolting to our best feelings. 

It. surely should not require so much direct testimo- 
ny from the scripture to prove that God will have mer- 
cy on all men, as to prove that he will not ; for if we 
judge the divine Being by his conduct to men in this 
life, the evidence of his universal goodness is perfect- 
ly ample. And David says, " the Lord is good to all, 
and his tender mercies are over all his works." 

If what the scriptures assert on this subject be true, 
and if we may credit the testimony of divine provi- 
dence, we must conclude, that the doctrine that teach- 
es unmerciful, never-ending punishment, is a direct 
impeachment of the divine Being ; and is the greatest 
specimen of ingratitude that is to be found in all the 
world. 

This ungrateful doctrine is now held up to be the 
guardian of morality ! In order to be moral w r e must 
solemnly and heartily accuse the kind Father of our 
spirits, who loves sinners and sent his Son to be the 
propitiation for the sins of the whole world, of having 
predestinated millions of human beings to a state of 
endless wo, before the creation of the world ! If re- 
ligion and morality begin with such ingratitude, what 
will be their progress ? and what will be their end ? 

There is one more argument which the opposer 
17 



194 

may think ought to be noticed, which is the following. 
As Jesus says, in our text ; " it is better for thee to 
enter into life maimed, than having two hands, to be 
cast into hell, &e. ; as entering into life means entering 
into a state of eternal felicity, hereafter, so being cast 
into hell, being the opposite of entering into life, seems 
to favor the opinion that this hell is in the future, eter- 
nal world. 

In replying to this argument, we shall bring the 
principal design of the text before the hearer, and in- 
troduce the argument of the Saviour for the purpose 
for which he used it. 

And here the hearer is called on to observe that the 
objection to which we are now about to reply is in fact, 
founded on a mistake. By entering into life, we have 
no evidence to believe, that the Saviour had any allu- 
sion to entering into a state of complete happiness, in 
the eternal, immortal state ; but we have evidence to 
the contrary of this, even in the text itself. Observe 
the words; "it is better for thee to enter into life 
maimed," &c. He surely did not mean, that men 
were to enter into a state of immortality in the eternal 
world maimed. 

John Baptist, says ; " he that believeth on the Son 
hath everlasting life." St. John says, " we know that 
we have passed from death unto life, because we love 
the brethren." St. Paul says, " there is, therefore, 
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Je- 
sus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. 
For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death." To 
the Ephesians he says ; " But God, who is rich in 
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even 
when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us togeth- 
er with Christ." This is that life into which those 
who believe and obey the gospel enter maimed. 

But the immortal state is represented glorious and 
complete. 

We shall now solicit the attention of the audience 
to the consideration of what is meant by being maimed, 
in our text, and to an illustration of the proper object 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 195 

of the Saviour's argument. Observe the introduction of 
our subject. " And whosoever shall offend one of these 
little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a 
millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast 
into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off; 
for it is better for thee to enter into life maimed," &c. 

The evident meaning of the Saviour seems to be 
this ; if one of your nearest connexions in the world, 
even if one as dear to you as a hand, should oppose 
your yielding obedience to the gospel, part with this 
dear connexion rather than part with divine truth. 
And though you thereby feel as one who has lost a 
hand, yet what you gain is more than what you lose. 
In this connexion, Jesus mentions the cutting off of a 
foot, and the plucking out of an eye for the same cause 
as the cutting off of the hand ; and it is very evident 
that this recommendation was given on account of the 
opposition that was constantly in exercise against 
the cause of truth, and which he knew would increase 
unto grievous persecution. 

Jesus said, " Think not that I am come to send 
peace on earth ; I came not to send peace, but a sword. 
For I am come to set a man at variance against his 
father, and the daughter against her mother, and the 
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a 
man's foes shall be they of his own household. He 
that loveth father or mother more than me is not wor- 
thy of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more 
than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh 
not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of 
me. He that findeth his life shall lose it ; and he that 
loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 

It was hard indeed for the disciples of Jesus to part 
with such tender connexions, and they, no doubt, 
felt, in some respect, as people do, who have lost a 
hand, a foot, or an eye ; but then on the other hand, 
they had Jesus who is worth more than all they 
lost. 

St. Paul was called to enter into life at the expense 
of all that he held dear, of a worldly nature. Brought 
up at the feet of Gamaliel, educated a Pharisee, in 



196 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

high esteem among his people, and in the confidence 
of the high Priest of his nation ; in his youth when his 
prospects were exceedingly flattering, and at a moment 
when he was engaged in rendering all possible service 
to the interest of those authorities, which were hostile 
to the cause and disciples of Christ, he is called to em- 
brace the Saviour, and to part with all his connexions 
and friends on earth. He entered into life maimed. 
He felt like one who has lost a hand, a foot, and an 
eye, but thereby saved his life. How often would 
such a person think of the members gone. How often 
would he say, O that my hand, my foot, and my eye 
could again be restored. So it was with St. Paul. He 
says, " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my con- 
science also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in 
my heart. For I could wish that myself were accurs- 
ed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen accord- 
ing to the flesh." And again, he says, "Brethren, my 
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that 
they might be saved." But there he saw them, de- 
voted to the worm and fire, described by the prophet 
Isaiah. — They were the Apostle's" kinsmen according 
to the flesh." They were to him like lost members 
of his body, for whom he exercised great and continu- 
al concern. 

Will the advocate for endless punishment say, that 
St. Paul's concern for his brethren was because he 
believed they would never obtain mercy ? Will any 
pretend that Paul was heavy-hearted, because he be- 
lieved as many do now, that they were consigned over 
to endless wo ? 

Such a supposition is in direct opposition to the 
clear and luminous arguments which this Apostle 
has left recorded in his epistles, particularly in the 
11th of Romans, where he fully explains the occasion 
of the blindness of the Jews, and largely vindicates 
their final re-admission to favor. Speaking to the 
Gentile believers, he says; "For as ye in times past 
have not believed God, but have now obtained mer- 
cy through their unbelief, even so have these now not 



197 

believed, that through your mercy, they also may ob- 
tain mercy." And as has been before noticed, he says 
"All Israel shall be saved." 

It surely would be very contrary to the prospects 
of the christian hope, to suppose that St. Paul, or any 
other Saint would spend an eternity in the maimed 
condition that he was in, in consequence of leaving 
his brethren in darkness and unbelief. 

Many professed Christians in our times, and indeed 
many professed preachers of the gospel, feel or affect 
to feel great concern for fear the souls of their fellow 
creatures will be finally sentenced to everlasting tortures 
in the eternal world. This is a maimedness, which 
St. Paul has informed us nothing of. But those who 
now believe the truth as it is in Jesus and yield obedi- 
ence to its requirements, enter into life maimed. They 
are called to part with dear connexions, which are near 
to them as the members of their bodies. 

The false religion of anti-christ, like the doctrines of 
the Pharisees and the Sadducees of old, has so estab- 
lished itself by the power of tradition, is guarded and 
supported by so many means, which in the eyes of the 
world are honorable, that to call it in question, to 
presume to bring it into the light for examination ex- 
cites great alarm among its friends. One who has 
been brought up and educated according to the ortho- 
dox creed, joined a church, and formed an extensive 
connexion in religious society, has kind and affection- 
ate parents, brothers and sisters, who are respectable 
members of the same communion, by some means 
which heaven has appointed is called to reflect on some 
of the doctrines of the church, by way of query. Such 
questions as the following arise in the mind. How is 
it that a wise, kind, and merciful Creator has predesti- 
nated, from eternity, millions of human beings to end- 
less and unspeakable torments ? In his providence, 
he is universally kind ; he openeth his hand and satisfi- 
eth the desire of every living thing ; why should he 
not be as universally kind in the economy of his spirit- 
ual grace ? We read in the scriptures, that " God 
commended this love toward us, in that while we were 
17* 



198 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

yetsinness, Christ died for us," We furthermore 
read thatJesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation 
for the sins of the whole world. Why should the 
scriptures speak in such terms if a few only of the hu 
man family are subjects of the divine favor ? These 
thoughts and many others revolve in the mind of the 
supposed individual. The person thus exercised feels 
a strong desire to speak with some one on the subject ; 
but fears arise that it may give offence ! The matter 
is suffered to rest for the present; the person goes to 
the house of worship with a determination to learn 
something, if possible, that may assist in solving these 
queries. The minister prays ; and in his prayer he 
fervently entreats the Father of mercies to send forth 
the light, and power of the gospel even to the ends of 
the earth, that all may be brought to a saving know- 
ledge of God. This prayer awakens the attention of 
our querist, who now says ; why does my minister pray 
for all the world if he has no faith for the whole ? The 
minister preaches ; and his sermon is designed to prove 
the divine sovereignty in electing some to everlasting 
life, and predestinating others to endless destruction. 
This contradiction between the prayer and the sermon 
tries the mind exceedingly. The person goes home, 
finally feels such powerful exercises of mind, that a 
determination is formed to talk with others on the sub- 
ject. 

No sooner are these queries made known to the 
dearest connexions in life, than surprise is manifested ; 
and the person asked whether he is disposed to call in 
question the mysterious doctrines of the gospel, doubt 
the creed, and pretend to be wiser than the minister ? 
But all does not satisfy the mind, into which a few 
scattering beams of divine light have found their way. 
Says the supposed person, I will go for once and hear 
a preacher who holds up Jesus a universal Saviour. 
Yes, this I must do, and if I am despised for it I must 
bear it. It is accordingly so done, and God blesses 
the word to the satisfaction of the heavy ladened soul, 
and Jesus now appears Lord of all, Lord of the dead 
and the living ; and the enraptured soul says, I have 



199 

seen and must testify that the Father sent the Son to 
be the Saviour of the world. With the heart the per- 
son believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. What is next? 
The church disowns this member and casts it out ; 
family connexions grow cold and alienated in their af- 
fections, and this lonely individual enters into life 
maimed. 

What a loss is here ! Perhaps father, mother, broth- 
ers, sisters, are parted with. Yea, perhaps a husband 
or a wife, as the case may be. 

Joys arise on the one hand, peace is found in be- 
lieving, and a free universal gospel is life to the soul. 
On the other hand heaviness of heart, that those dear 
connexions, which are left in gloomy darkness, and are 
exercised with the awful terrors of everlasting misery, 
cannot now see and rejoice in this heavenly, glorious 
truth, that " God is the Saviour of all men." 

But, my brethren and sisters, though many of you 
have entered into life maimed ; though you have left 
fathers, mothers, companions, brethren and sisters, 
sons and daughters, you are satisfied that it is better 
to enter into life thus maimed, than to be cast into that 
ceaseless fire of erroneous creeds, and to be gnawed 
with that restless worm of continual fear. 

There is likewise one consolation that more than re- 
pays all the losses you sustain ; your faith and hope 
enter within the vail where Jesus entered, in whom 
dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ; " and ye 
are complete in him." When you contemplate the ful- 
ness of him who filleth all things, you perceive that 
God has purposed to " gather together in one all things 
in Christ." You " know that the head of every man 
is Christ," and that Jiot a bone of him shall be broken. 
You therefore anticipate the time, when you shall en- 
ter into immortality and eternal life, not maimed, but 
being complete in Christ the head of every man, all 
those dear connexions who oppose you here, will join 
you there. Those who could not commune with you 
here, will have no partial creeds there. All will be il- 
luminated with the radiant sun of righteousness, tears 



200 

will there be wiped from off all faces, and there shall 
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither 
shall there he any more pain. But he that sitteth up- 
on the throne shall make all things new according to 
the pattern shown unto the disciples, in the mount 
where Jesus was transfigured. 

That the hearer may have a clear and distinct un- 
derstanding of the general subject to which we have 
attended, a comparison should be carefully made be- 
tween the state of the disciples of Jesus, in this pres- 
ent world, where, though spiritual life, and the fruits 
of the spirit, which are love, joy, peace, long suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, and faith, are enjoyed, yet there 
are many sufferings ; such as persecutions for the sake 
of the word, sorrows of heart for those who oppose 
the truth, and all the maimedness signified in our text, 
and of which mention has been made, with that per 
feet, glorious, and immortal state, of which Jesus spake 
when treating on the subject of the resurrection, and 
of which St. Paul, speaks in his 1st epistle to the Co- 
rinthians. 

The opposer will now say, if you are right, why is it 
not just as well for us to remain ignorant of these 
truths as to know them? What difference can it 
make ? 

In reply, we will ask the following questions : — Sup- 
pose some deceived person should be led to believe, 
that the coming spring will be so widely different from 
the vernal seasons which are past, that in room of a 
warmer sun than winter affords, and in room of the 
usual zephyrs and flowers of May, the sun will run still 
lower than in winter, and the winds be more chilling, 
the frost more intense, and not a flower will be seen, 
nor a bird heard to sing ; further, suppose this gloomy 
soul should persuade thousands 4o believe his errors, 
and should spread a gloom over half the inhabitants 
of our country, how would those, who remained con- 
fident in the goodness and faithfulness of God, feel for 
their deceived friends ? Would they not endeavor to 
persuade them away from their fears? And would it 
be just as well for those who should be thus deceived, 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 201 

to remain in their error, as to live by faith, and rejoice 
in hope of the glory of God, which is hastening on as 
fast as time moves ? 

Would it not be very proper to say to the people, 
who in consequence of this gloomy unbelief, were ma- 
king no preparations to improve the lovely season of 
seed time, repent of your errors, see to your concerns, 
be ready with all your means, for the spring is at hand, 
the days grow longer, it will be but a short time before 
the flowers shall appear and the time of the singing of 
birds will come ? 



LECTURE XV. 



ALL MEN THE CHILDREN OF GOD. DESTRUCTION OF 
THE DEVIL. 

HEBREWS ii. 14, 15. 

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also 
himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might des- 
troy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; — And deliver them 
who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

The first inquiry, to which the attention of the 
hearer is invited, will be directed to ascertain some 
particulars relative to the children mentioned in our 
text. 

We shall see, by the context, that these children 
comprehend the whole human family. In reference 
to a passage in the 8th Psalm, the Apostle says ; 
" But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is 
man that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man 
that thou visitest him ? Thou madest him a little low- 
er than the angels ; thou crownedst him with glory 
and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy 
hands : Thou hast put all things in subjection under his 
feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, 
he left nothing that is not put under him. But now 
we see not yet all things put under him : But we see 
Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for 
the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor ; 
that he by the grace of God should taste death for ev- 
ery man." By man, it is evident, the Apostle meant 
the whole humanity, as did the prophet also in the 
passage referred to ; and by every man, he meant the 
same thing in a distributive view. 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 203 

The Apostle's argument evidently amounts to this; 
the glory and honor to which man was originally des- 
tined by his Creator, we now see complete in Je- 
sus, who tasted death for every man, and in him 
only. 

Immediately following what we have just quoted from 
our context, the author, in giving the reason for the 
sufferings of Jesus calls the whole human nature, ta- 
ken in the distributive sense before noticed, sons; 
Ci For it became him, for whom are all things, and by 
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, 
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through 
sufferings." 

Here it is important that we notice distinctly that 
the Apostle designed to speak of the Creator when he 
spake of him, " for whom are all things, and by whom 
are all things ;" and when he spake of many sons, he 
meant the same as he did by every man ; and when he 
spake of bringing many sons to glory, he meant the 
bringing of every man to the glory which we see in 
Jesus, of which he had just spoken. 

Directly following our last quotation, the author 
calls these many sons, who are to be brought unto 
glory, the brethren of him who is their sanctifier, and 
says that they are one with him. " For both he that 
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one : 
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them breth- 
ren : saying, I will declare thy name unto my breth- 
ren ; in the midst of the church will I sing praise 
unto thee." 

By him who sanctifieth, the author means Jesus, 
who is the captain of our salvation ; by those who are 
sanctified, he means every man or the many sons, of 
whom he had just spoken, and by brethren he means 
the same thing, and furthermore he calls them the 
church. 

Our author introduces our glorified Saviour, as say- 
ing ; "Behold I, and the children which God hath giv- 
en me." These children are the same as expressed 
dy the Apostle in the following words which have 
been quoted ; " What is man ? " meaning the whole 



204 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

human nature. "Every man," meaning the same. 
" Many sons," comprehending the same. " Brethren" 
of the great sanctifier ; " The church." These are 
the children mentioned in our text, who are partakers 
of flesh and blood. 

Having ascertained in the first section of our inquiry, 
that the children mentioned in our text comprehend 
the whole human family, we may attempt 

2dly, To show who is the Father of these children. 
This question is settled at once by the author in the 
context, in the following words which have been no- 
ticed ; " For it became him, for whom are all things, 
and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons un- 
to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect 
through sufferings." These many sons, who are 
brought unto glory, are the children mentioned in our 
text, and he for whom are all things, and by whom are 
all things, is the Father of these children. 

If it seem incorrect to the hearer, to call all men the 
children of God, and if any objection be made to this 
doctrine on account of the sinfulness of man's charac- 
ter, our argument may be supported by the following 
considerations. 

St. Luke in tracing the genealogy of Jesus carries 
it up to the creation of man, and says ; " Which was 
the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which 
was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." If 
it be proper to call Adam the son of God, it seems also 
to be proper to call all the descendants of this first 
man, the children of God. 

If the objection be urged on account of the sinful 
character of man, we reply, that the children do not 
destroy this relation by disobedience. For as the re- 
lation of parent and child certainly exists before the 
child becomes active in obedience, or disobedience ; it 
would be false reasoning to argue that obedience could 
constitute this relation, or that disobedience would dis- 
annul it. The Lord says, by the prophet Jeremiah ; 
" Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord ; for I 
am married unto you." Thus the divine Being ad- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 205 

dresses the wicked by the endearing appellation of 
children. 

That it is consistent with the doctrine of Jesus to 
allow that sinners are the children of God, this divine 
teacher fully shows where he teaches us to pray, and 
say ; " Our father which art in heaven — forgive us 
our sins." Here Jesus teaches the sinner to call God 
his Father. 

St. Paul, speaking to the Athenians, as recorded in 
the 17th Acts, said ; " God that made the world, and 
all things therein, — hath made of one blood all nations 
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and 
hath determined the times before appointed, and the 
bounds of their habitation ; that they should seek the 
Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, 
though he be not far from every one of us ; for in him 
we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also 
of your own poets have said, for we are also his off- 
spring."- According to this declaration, " all nations 
of men" are the offspring of God. Let us inquire, 

3dly. What this relation of all men to the divine Be- 
ing consists in ? 

It seems that the simple fact of man's being creat- 
ed, or formed of the dust of the ground by the hand 
of God, is not altogether a sufficient cause to account 
for his being called his offspring ; for it is evident 
that all other creatures and things were equally the 
production of the divine Power; but the beasts of the 
field, the fowl of heaven, the fish of the sea are not call- 
ed the offspring and children of God. 

If a man, who is a mechanic, contrive and make nev- 
er so curious or valuable a piece of machinery, it would 
not justify our calling him the father of this production 
of his skill, nor would it justify our calling this machine 
the son, child, or offspring of him who made it. But 
if a man have born to him a child, this child par- 
takes cf the very nature of the parent, and it is this 
participation which constitutes the relation of father 
and child. So if the " Father of spirits" has so con- 
stituted man, that he is a partaker of his nature, he 
18 



206 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

is, in a most proper and divine sense the child and 
offspring of God. 

This is the nature of the relation which constitutes 
all men the children of God, and this relation lies at 
the foundation of the divine economy, by which we 
are amply provided with all things which appertain 
to life and godliness. This relation accounts for all 
which we read in scriptures of the love, mercy, and 
compassions of the divine Being towards man. We 
cannot conceive the possibility of any being's loving 
that which is totally different from itself. 

But man " is the image and glory of God," and it 
is as consistent with the nature of things, for God to 
love his own image in mankind, as it is for parents to 
love their image in their children. 

This relation accounts for the moral obligation that 
men are under to love God above every other object. 
" Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength," 
is not an arbitrary command, but is established on the 
nature of the divine relation in which we stand to our 
Father which is in heaven. If there were in nature 
any thing more calculated to happify mankind than is 
the divine Being, that thing would certainly have the 
greatest claim on our love. 

But this is not the case ; there is not in the whole 
universe any thing so favorable to man, as is the 
Father of his spirit. God is the fountain from which 
we came, and nothing but God can satisfy the 
soul. 

David said ; " As the heart panteth after the water- 
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My 
soul thirsteth for God, for the living God." If water 
were not a part of the composition of the human body, 
we should never feel a desire for it, nor could it give 
us the least refreshment. So if we were not partakers 
of the divine nature in our constitution as mortal be- 
ings, we could never feel the least desire for God, nor 
couid the communications of the divine Spirit give us 
life or any refreshment. How eagerly does one who 
is thirsty receive the cooling draught, and with what 



BALLOu's LECTURES. 207 

exquisite pleasure does he slake his parching thirst. 
Jesus says : " If any man thirst let him come unto 
me and drink ;" Drink what ? The spirit of truth 
which is a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life. 

This divine relation, which constitutes all men the 
children of God, explains the meaning of such passa- 
ges as the following ; " For the earnest expectation of 
the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons 
of God. — Because the creature itself also shall be de- 
livered from the bondage of corruption into the glori- 
ous liberty of the children of God : — For we know that, 
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, 
we have a building of God, an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, 
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house 
w T hich is from heaven. For we that are in this taber- 
nacle do groan, being burdened ; not for that we would 
be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might 
be swallowed up of life." In these passages men are 
represented as the sons of God, and while they are in 
the earthly house of this tabernacle, they are consider- 
ed in a state of bondage, from which they groan to be 
delivered ; and the state into which they are to enter 
when the earthly house is dissolved, is the glorious lib 
erty of the children of God, to inhabit a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 

Now if man was wholly of an earthly nature, 
if the natural elements which constitute his earthly 
house of this tabernacle compose the whole of his na- 
ture, would there be the least shadow of sense in such 
scriptures ? 

To conclude this general inquiry concerning the 
children mentioned in our text, we may ask, in what 
way the passage under consideration is to be under- 
stood, unless this divine relation of mankind to the Fa- 
ther of our spirits be granted ? " The children are 
partakers of flesh and blood ; " If the children were 
nothing but flesh and blood, why is it said, that they 
are partakers of flesh and blood ? " He (Jesus ) also 
himself likewise took part of the same." I Jesus con 



208 

sisted only of flesh and blood, is it intelligible language 
to say, he took part of the same ? 

But the christian hearer will say at once, that he 
has no doubt that Jesus partook of the divine nature, 
and stood in a constituted relation to his Father, and 
was something besides flesh and blood. Now when 
all this is conceded, the hearer's attention is invit- 
ed to reconsider a part of the context which has been 
noticed ; " For both he that sanctifieth and they who 
are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not 
ashamed to call them brethren." If Jesus, who is 
the sanctifier, and mankind who are sanctified by him, 
are all of one, so that he is not ashamed to call men 
his brethren, then it is plain that the nature of the rela- 
tion of Jesus to the Father is the nature of the relation 
of every man to the Father of our spirits. And this 
agrees with the scripture which saith that Jesus is 
" the first-born among many brethren.' 7 

The hearer is cautioned against supposing that we 
mean to level the blessed Redeemer to no more than 
equality with ourselves, by contending that the relation 
in which we stand to our Father and his Father; to 
our God and his God, is the same in which he himself 
stands ; for though all this is evident from the scrip- 
tures, yet it is also contained in them, that " God hath 
highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above 
every name that is named, whether in this world or 
that which is to come ; that in the name of Jesus every 
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on 
earth, and things under the earth ; and that every 
tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory 
of God the Father." 

We may now notice the moral condition which our 
text and context give to the children named in the text, 
and concerning whom we have endeavored to direct 
the foregoing researches. 

On this question we may say but little ; as the sub- 
ject is rendered sufficiently clear by the scripture un- 
der consideration and its connexion. 

In our text, theise children are said to be partakers 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 209 

of flesh and blood, and to be in bondage through fear 
of death. Just above the Apostle had said, as has 
been twice noticed ; " Both he that sanctifieth and 
they who are sanctified are all of one," &c. By this 
we learn that the children were in an unsanctified state, 
which rendered their sanctification necessary. And 
this agrees with the following account which we find in 
the Apostle's writing to the Ephesians ; " Husbands 
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, 
and gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and 
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word ; 
that he might present it to himself a glorious church, 
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but 
that it should be holy, and without blemish." 

This is the church of which mention is made in 
our context : " I will declare thy name unto my breth- 
ren ; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto 
thee." 

This is the church which Jesus loved, when it was 
unsanctified, unclean, full of spots and wrinkles, and 
in a state of bondage. This church consists of every 
man or the whole human family, as the Apostle saith 
in the place where our text lies ; " But we see Jesus, 
who was made a little lower than the angels, for the 
suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor ; 
that he by the grace of God might taste death for 
every man." 

Our next inquiry may be directed to obtain the 
meaning of the following words ; " He also himself 
likewise took part of the same ; that through death he 
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, 
the devil." 

These words seem to indicate the following things ; 
— 1st. That the devil has the power of death. 2d. 
That the devil may be destroyed. 3d. That the 
means by which the devil can be destroyed is that of 
death. And, 4th. That Jesus took on him flesh and 
blood for the purpose of destroying the devil, by means 
of death. Apprehensions are entertained that we are 
about to encounter some formidable difficulties in the 
progress of this inquiry, especially if we entertain the 
18* 



210 BALLOU ? S LECTURES. 

opinion concerning the devil, which has been general- 
ly believed. This opinion supposes, that the devil is 
an immortal spirit, that he was once an angel of light, 
and an inhabitant of heaven, in which God and holy 
angels dwell. It supposes that this angel rebelled 
against the Almighty, for which cause he was driven 
out of heaven, and cast down to hell, where he will ex- 
ist in unspeakable torments as long as God shall exist 
in heaven, happiness, and glory. 

Dr. Watts, whose opinion, concerning the devil, 
or satan, was according to the wisdom of other doctors, 
has left the following as his sentiment, to be read and 
sung in christian devotion : 

f Far in the deep where darkness dwells, 
The land of horror and despair, 
Justice hath built a dismal hell, 
And laid her stores of vengeance there . 

Eternal plagues, and heavy chains, 
Tormenting racks and fiery coals, 
And darts t' inflict immortal pains 
Dy'd in the blood of damned aouls. 

There Satan the first sinner lies, 

And roars and bites his iron bands; 

In vain the rebel strives to rise, 

Crushed with the weight of both thy hands." 

Now it is certainly very difficult, according to this 
doctrine, to account for all that the scriptures say in- 
dicating that the devil has continually sojourned in 
this world. This same author supposes that this satan, 
who lies in the " dismal hell" of which he spake, crush- 
ed with the weight of both the hands of the Almighty, 
and who strives to rise from his confinement in vain, 
was the tempter who beguiled our mother Eve. He 
says; 

•* When satan in the serpent hid, 
Proposed the fruit that God forbid." 

And not only does this common opinion about the 
devil, suppose he was the tempter, who beguiled Eve, 
but it supposes that he is present with every man 



211 

through his whole lifetime on earth, tempting us to 



sin ! 

But our authors have not told us how the devil can 
be confined to that " dismal hell," of which they say 
so much, and at the same time be here on earth to su- 
perintend the vast affairs of sin and wickedness through- 
out all nations and kingdoms of the world. 

There are more difficulties still which we must dis 
pose of as prudently as possible. 

If the devil be in fact an immortal spirit, and if he 
be confined to a state of endless misery, how shall we 
understand the Apostle in our text, who says, that 
Jesus took flesh and blood, that through death he 
might destroy him that had the power of death, that 
is, the devil ? 

How could Jesus, by dying, destroy an immortal, 
spiritual being ? and one too who is to exist as long 
as Jesus shall exist ? 

Not only is it believed, that the devil will exist as 
long as Jesus, who died to destroy him, but it is like- 
wise believed that he will be able to maintain his gov- 
ernment over a much larger number of the human 
race, than will ever be made subject to the laws of the 
Redeemer. In support of this opinion, such passa- 
ges of scripture as the following are frequently cited ; 
" Many are called, but few are chosen. — Wide is the 
gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruc- 
tion, and many there be which go in thereat : Because 
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which lead- 
eth unto life, and few there be that find it." It is be- 
lieved that the adversary is continually exerting him- 
self and using all his infernal arts to lead men into 
sin, that the divine Being may be moved to sentence 
them to his dismal abode, where he may have the con- 
trol of them forever ; on the other hand, it is believed 
that Jesus Christ is continually employing all the means 
of grace to bring sinners to repentance, that they may 
be his happy subjects in the eternal world ; but the 
result of all these counter operations, and this war- 
fare between Christ and the adversary will be a few to 
the praise of the glory of the Redeemer's name, and 



212 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

many victims to the more successful endeavors of the 
prince of darkness ! 

Notwithstanding these sentiments are thought to be 
true, and of essential importance in the christian doc- 
trine, yet we hear abundance said, find much written, 
and not a little sung of the glorious victory which Je- 
sus won over the adversary, when he died, and rose 
from the dead. But if those sentiments be correct, 
which give the result of the warfare between Christ 
and the adversary, so much in favor of the latter, it is 
evident that another contest, and one more like vic- 
tory would establish the adversary in universal domin- 
ion ! 

That we may, at once deliver our minds from all the 
inconsistencies which the common opinion concerning 
the devil involves, let us avail ourselves of the import- 
ant fact, that no such sentiment is found in the scrip- 
tures, nor in the least favored by reason or common 
sense. 

That the devil was ever a holy angel we have no ac- 
count in the scriptures ; that any man was ever tempt- 
ed by an agent distinct from the powers of flesh and 
blood we have no reason to believe. St. James says ; 
" Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of 
his own lust, and enticed." And it is a fact, that we 
are never tempted to commit any sin, that may not be 
accounted for without a separate agent. 

The word devil, or satan, means an adversary, an 
enemy, an opposer. And this character every man 
finds in himself. Every man, being a partaker of flesh 
and blood, has the adversary in him, who tempts him 
to sin ; and can say, with as much propriety as St. 
Paul did, " In me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no 
good thing." The Apostle further says ; " I delight 
in the law of God after the inward man. But I see 
another law in my members warring against the law 
of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law 
of sin which is in my members." Again he says, "the 
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against 
ihe flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the other ; 
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would — Now 



LECTURES. 213 

the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these : 
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idola- 
try, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, 
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunken- 
ness, revellings, and such like." Again he says; "the 
carnal mind is enmity against God, is not subject to 
his law, neither indeed can be." 

This "carnal mind," this "law of sin," this enmity 
against God, is the devil, that has the power of death, 
for " to be carnally minded is death." Corruption 
and mortality are within the powers of flesh and blood, 
and the history of sin, evil, and death no where extends 
beyond those limits. 

This power of the flesh w 7 as figuratively represented 
by the serpent, which beguiled Eve ; and it was said 
to the serpent ; " dust shalt thou eat all the days of 
thy life." The prophet Isaiah says ; " dust shall be 
the serpent's meat." 

This serpent is not an immortal spirit ; for such a 
spirit surely would not feed on dust ; and the words, 
" all the days of thy life," certainly indicate that the 
life of the serpent would come to an end. 

It seems that our subject must now 7 be plainly seen 
by the hearer. 

" Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of 
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of 
the same ; that through death he might destroy him 
that had the power of death, that is, the devil." That 
is, as the children of God, the heirs of life and immor- 
tality are partakers of flesh and blood, in order to abol- 
ish death and bring life and immortality to light ; in 
order to destroy the devil and his works, and to tri- 
umph over all these earthly and carnal powers, Jesus 
took on him flesh and blood, was made in all points 
like unto his brethren, was tempted in all points as we 
are, subdued every temptation of the flesh, by the pow- 
er of the spirit which he had without measure, laid 
down his natural life, arose from the dead incorrupti- 
ble and immortal. "He dieth no more; death hath 
no more dominion over him." Flesh and blood which 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption 



214 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

which cannot inherit incorruption are no more. The 
serpent's days are ended, he has no more dust to eat, 
he is destroyed and is no mere. 

If the adversary had an immortal constitution, could 
exist out of flesh and blood as well as in them, the 
putting off all flesh and blood, would only demolish 
one of the enemy's encampments, while it would 
leave him unbounded space and eternity to occupy 
still. 

We may now draw to a conclusion, by an attempt to 
illustrate the following clause of our text ; " And de- 
liver them, who through fear of death, were all their 
lifetime subject to bondage." 

For want of the knowledge of life and immortality, 
which Jesus has brought to light by his resurrection 
from the dead, men are perpetually subject to bondage 
through fear of death. But a belief in the gospel of 
our blessed Redeemer gives us a complete victory over 
all such fears. It enters the silent, dark mansion of 
the dead with a steady clear light which directs us to 
the bright abodes of immortal life. 

The disciples of Jesus, who were favored with posi- 
tive evidence of the resurrection of the Saviour, were 
so completely delivered from the bondage of fear, that 
they never hesitated to publish the doctrine of the 
resurrection even to the perpetual hazard of their 
lives. 

Such was the persuasion which St. Paul had of the 
truth of the resurrection, and the glory of the future 
world, that he said ; " I am in a strait between two, 
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which 
is far better." This Apostle built all his hopes of a 
future existence on the fact of the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. He says ; " If Christ be not raised, your faith 
is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. — But now is Christ 
risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them 
that slept. — For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive." He further says ; " The first 
man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the 
Lord from heaven. — And as we have borne the im- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 215 

age of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the 
heavenly." 

In the image of the earthy man we find the carnal 
mind, which is enmity against God, is not subject to 
his law, neither indeed can be. We find a law in our 
members warring against the law of our mind, and 
bringing us into captivity to the law of sin. We find 
all the fruits of the flesh, and all the devil, of which 
the Apostle speaks in our text, that has the power of 
death. But in the image of the heavenly man none 
of these things exist. No carnal mind, no enmity 
against God, no law in the members warring against 
the law of the mind. That flesh and blood which 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and that cor- 
ruption which cannot inherit incorruption, will exist 
no more. 

The " whole creation," thus delivered from the bon- 
dage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
dren of God, will realize the fulness of what we now 
see but in part. 

My brethren, how near are these things ! but a 
moment, as it were, separates us from the immortal 
scenes anticipated by the christian faith. The view of 
these eternal things and a steady belief in them, are 
present victory over the powers of the flesh. This is 
indeed a holy calling, a calling to heavenly-minded- 
ness and heavenly conversation. These thoughts and 
contemplations are blossoms in the desert, they are 
pools in parched ground. This doctrine of eternal life 
is a river in a dry place, the shadow of a great rock 
in a weary land. 

Jesus says ; " In the world you shall have tribulation, 
but in me ye shall have peace." 

My friends do not reject and refuse this peace, this 
joy, this consolation, because it is free to all. You do 
not refuse the light and warmth of the sun because all 
men have it ; why then will you turn your backs on 
the grace of Jesus because he is that wisdom which is 
without partiality ? 



LECTURE XVI. 

THE SECOND DEATH. 

REVELATIOx\ xxi. 8. 

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and 
.whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their 
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second 
death. 

This passage is among the number which have 
been used to prove a state of intolerable misery in the 
eternal world, and continually recited in those terri- 
fic sermons which were designed to awaken the fears, 
and operate on the timidity of the ignorant. 

Our duty leads us to investigate the use which has 
been made of this passage, to examine the propriety 
of its common application, and as plainly as possible 
refute whatever may appear incongruous with the 
word of God, and the doctrine of his grace. It will 
likewise be expected, that suitable labor will be direct- 
ed to discover the true sense of this, and similar pas- 
sages. 

Our text informs us, that the lake of fire and brim- 
stone is the second death, and as this death is called 
" the second death," it evidently refers to a first death. 
The common doctrine of the church supposes that the 
first death is the death of the natural body, and the 
second death the eternal condemnation of the soul and 
body after the resurrection, in a state of the most ex- 
quisite torture. 

There seems to be no small inconsistency in this 
opinion, in that it makes the second death to be sec- 
ond to something as entirely different from itself as 
any thing could be invented. The death of the body 
consists in a total extinction of animal life, in an entire 



LECTURES. 217 

destitution of all sense, and renders the subject incapa- 
ble of pleasure or pain. Where then is the propriety 
of calling a state of the quickest sensation, and the 
most intolerable misery second to that which is alto- 
gether unlike it ? 

While a person lives in this world, he is subject to 
sorrow, adversity, sickness, and pain. Why then 
would it not seem altogether more congruous to call a 
state of misery hereafter the second life, than to call it 
the second death, that is, second to the death of the 
body? 

Another very great inconsistency in the common 
use of our text is, that it supposes that after people 
shall have ceased from all the sins which are enumera- 
ted in the text, and are in a constitution of existence 
in which no such crimes can ever be committed, they 
are then and there to be tormented for what they did 
in this world. No one supposes that there will be un- 
believers, whoremongers, idolaters, &c. in the eternal 
world. What reason then is there in supposing that 
in a world where no crime can never be committed, 
crimes will be eternally punished ? In this world we 
are obliged to punish crimes, and the object is to re- 
claim the criminal, or to deter others from committing 
like offences, or both. But what is this punishment 
for in the eternal world, in which no one pretends 
that any crime can ever be committed? 

Will the advocate for this hereafter punishment, 
pretend that it is inflicted on mankind because they 
have been sinful in this world ? We will then endeav- 
or to show that this is not a correct answer. 

Suppose then that a man now commits a crime, say 
theft, or murder, must he be punished ? Yes, he 
surely must be punished. Why, what necessity is 
there of this, punishment ? Answer ; if he be not pun- 
ished, he will repeat the crime with impunity, and re- 
straint will be taken from others, and crimes will be 
multiplied. 

This is admitted as a rational answer, and public 
sentiment yields to the execution of the law. 

But this answer cannot b? given in relation to this 
19 



218 

supposed punishment in the future world ; for punish- 
ment can be no terror to evil doers, where there are 
none. 

In case of criminality in this world, could it be made 
to appear, that the relinquishment of penalty would 
in no way tend to multiply crimes, the humanity and 
good sense of the public would most surely discontin- 
ue to punish. 

It is evident that punishment regards the future, and 
directs its endeavors to reclaim from wickedness and to 
prevent crimes. 

By the prophet Isaiah, God says to sinful Israel ; 
" Why should ye be stricken any more ? Ye will re- 
volt more and more." The evident sense of this is, 
there is no good reason for punishing, unless evil can 
be prevented by it. 

But what evil will be prevented by this endless pun- 
ishment in the future world ? Its advocates do not 
pretend that it will either make its subjects better, or 
restrain others from sin. 

But it is said, that it necessary to hold up the ter- 
rors of endless punishment to deter people from com- 
mitting sin in this world. If this be all, there is no 
necessity of the doctrine's being a truth, if it be believ- 
ed, though in fact it be false, it has all the effect to de- 
ter people from committing sin that it would have 
were it true. 

But we are ready to deny even this utility to the 
doctrine in question. For the advocate of the doc- 
trine makes provisions which completely nullify its 
power to produce any such effect. He informs the 
transgressor that if he repent of his sins anytime in 
this life he will avoid this punishment hereafter ; and 
moreover he certifies him that repentance is within his 
own power, and that he can repent any time if he will. 
Now where is the terror ? 

We will suppose that our legislature makes a law 
that if a man steal to the amount of a certain sum, he 
shall, on conviction thereof^ be confined to hard labor 
for life unless he shall in one week after committing 
the crime wash his hands in clean water. Would there 



219 

be any terror in this law ? Would this law prevent 
wicked men from stealing ? No, it would not. Nor 
does telling them that unless they repent, of their sins 
before they die they will be punished for them in the 
future world prevent their committing sins. 

Having suggested these improprieties in the com- 
mon use of our text, we may now proceed to inquire 
for the scripture doctrine concerning it. 

As this lake of fire and brimstone is called the se- 
cond death, we wish to have it kept in mind, that 
wherever we read of the lake of fire, the same is the 
second death ; and wherever we read of the second 
death, the same is the lake of fire. 

The first passage in which we find the second death 
mentioned, in these words, is recorded in the 2d of 
Revelation, and in the epistle to the church of Smyr- 
na ; " Fear none of those things which thou shalt suf- 
fer ; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, 
that ye may be tried : and ye shall have tribulation ten 
days : be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
a crown of life ; He that hath an ear let him hear what 
the spirit saith unto the churches : he that overcometh 
shall not be hurt of the second death." 

This was written to a christian church, and plainly 
indicated that those who should not overcome the tri- 
als with which they were about to be tried, but who 
should be overcome by them, should be hurt of the 
second death. 

If the hearer will use proper caution on this subject, 
what is meant by the second death will be very plain- 
ly seen. This church of Smyrna had been collected 
from among the Gentile idolaters. The state they 
were in, before their conversion to Christianity is called 
death in the language of the New Testament. In 
his epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul says ; " But 
God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith 
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath 
quickened us together with Christ." The blindness 
of the Jews and the idolatry of the Gentiles are repre- 
sented as a state of death from which the gospel was 
designed to raise and quicken the nations. Jesus 



220 B LLOTj's LECTURES. 

said ; " The hour is coming and now is, when the dead 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that 
hear shall live." St. John says ; " We know that we 
have passed from death unto life, because we love the 
brethren." And St. Paul again says ; " For the law 
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free 
from the law of sin and death." 

This state of moral death in which the gospel 
found both Jews and Gentiles, is the first death. 
From this death the gospel quickened and raised its 
converts into newness of life, and espoused them to 
Christ. 

To the Romans St. Paul says ; " Likewise reckon 
ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let 
not sin, therefore reign in your mortal bodies, that ye 
should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye 
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto 
sin ; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are 
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments 
of righteousness unto God." 

Being made alive unto God by faith in Jesus, and 
having turned their backs on the idols they had for- 
merly worshipped, these Gentile christians were expos- 
ed to grievous persecutions ; and in this epistle, which 
St. John wrote on the isle of Patmos, they are remind- 
ed of certain trials which they were about to encoun- 
ter, and are told that those, who should overcome, 
should not be hurt of the second death. That is, if 
they remained steadfast in the doctrine of Christ, they 
should not again fall into a state of death, which 
would be to them a second death. 

In the epistle to the church of Sardis we have an 
account of this death's having actually taken place. 
The following is the account ; " I know thy works, 
that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead." 
This death had come upon them in consequence of 
their having defiled their garments. The writer says 
to the minister of the church ; " Thou hast a few 
names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their 
garments ; and they shall walk with me in white : for 






BALLOU'S LECTURES. 221 

they are worthy." This was a plain intimation that 
the most of them in Sardis had defiled their garments ; 
and if they had defiled their garments, it proves that 
they had had clean garments, for that which is not clean 
cannot be defiled. 

Here then the case is plain. Those people had 
been washed in the water of regeneration ; their gar- 
ments had been made white in the blood of the Lamb ; 
they had been made alive by the quickening spirit of 
Christ ; but now they had turned from the holy com- 
mandments which had been delivered unto them ; 
they had defiled their garments ; and though they re- 
tained the name of Christ, yet they were dead; and 
this death must be the second death : for they had 
been dead in sin before. 

The writer of the epistle further observes ; " He 
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white 
raiment ; and I will not blot out his name out of the 
book of life, but I will confess his name before my 
Father, and before his angels." Now it is plain that 
those who had defiled their garments had not over- 
come, and as they were dead, their names were blotted 
out of the book of life. This shows that their names 
had been in the book of life, for if they had not, how 
could they have been blotted out. Names that are in 
a book may be blotted out of that book, but it is not 
possible to blot a name out of a book in which it was 
never written ? 

We can now see the reasonableness of saying, that 
the second death is the apostacy which has taken place 
under the gospel dispensation. 

Of this falling away we read in a number of passa- 
ges. St. Paul speaks of it to the Thessalonians as fol- 
lows ; " Let no man deceive you by any means ; for 
that day shall not come except their come a falling 
away first, and that man of sin be revealed ; the son 
of perdition — whom the Lord shall consume with the 
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the bright- 
ness of his coming." 

St. Peter speaks of apostate christians, and calls 
them " cursed children ; which have forsaken the right 
19* 



222 BALLOU 7 S LECTURES. 

way, and are gone astray." And further he says of 
them ; " If after they have escaped the polutions of 
the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, - 
and overcome ; the latter end is worse with them than 
the beginning. 

For it had been better for them not to have known 
the way of righteousness, than, after they have known 
it, to turn from the holy commandments delivered unto 
them." 

It is evident that those of whom the Apostle spake, 
had been in the right way, otherwise they could not 
have forsaken it. They had known the way of right- 
eousness, but had turned from the holy command- 
ments which they had received ; they had escaped the 
pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of Je- 
sus, but were again entangled therein and overcome. 
These were dead the second time. Jude speaks of 
them as follows ; " These are spots in your feasts of 
charity, when they feast with you, feeding, themselves 
without fear : clouds are they without water, carried 
about of winds ; trees whose fruit withereth, without 
fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots." 

Let it be observed in this place, that the errors by 
which Christianity was early corrupted, and the false 
doctrines which were introduced into the church, to- 
gether with all the vile and abominable idolatries and 
senseless superstitions which have characterised Chris- 
tianity for ages form what we mean by the second 
death, and constitute what the scriptures mean by a 
lake of fire and brimstone. 

We have an account of this fire and brimstone in 
the 14th of Revelation as follows ; "And the third 
angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any 
man worship the beast and his image, and receive 
his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall 
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured 
out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; 
and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in 
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of 
the Lamb ; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth 



223 

up forever and ever ; and they have no rest day nor 
night who worship the beast and his image, and who- 
soever receiveth the mark of his name." 

The hearer is requested to keep in mind that this 
fire and brimstone, and the second death are the same. 
And as we have already seen that the primitive chris- 
tians did, many of them, apostatize from the truth, de- 
file their garments, were overcome by the corruptions 
of the world and were hurt of the second death ; and 
as all this appears to have taken place here in this 
mortal state, and to have not the least allusion to a 
state of punishment in the future world, we will now 
examine what we have just quoted concerning this tor- 
ment with fire and brimstone, and see if it be in this 
world or in the eternal state. 

The first thing the hearer is requested to get pos- 
session of is, that this torment is experienced by the 
worshippers of the beast at and during the time of their 
woshipping him. This is of importance to understand ; 
for the common use of this scripture supposes that the 
divine Being will torment men in the future state, out 
of revenge because they worshipped the beast here in 
time ; as if they were the gainers here by worshipping 
the beast, and he the loser ; but finally the Almighty 
finds means, in the eternal world, to inflict such ven- 
geance on those deluded creatures, as will perfectly sat- 
isfy him for the loss he sustained by their worshipping 
the beast. 

We do not mean to say that those who hold the 
common opinion of the text, pretend to say, that the 
divine Being is a loser by-men's worshipping the beast, 
or that they are gainers by such worship ; what we 
contend for is, that the divine Being will certainly act 
on some principle, and as it is not allowed that this 
punishment is designed to reclaim or to deter, it 
must be to revenge, which supposes an injury receiv- 
ed. 

Let us ask the candid questions, and let them be 
candidly answered, if God has received no injury from 
his creatures, why should he be unfriendly towards 
them ? And if there be no real gains to the creature 



224 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

who worships the beast, no profit arising from all his 
services, why is not this foolish, idolatrous, and super- 
stitious worship bad enough to punish its deluded vo- 
taries. 

Let us try the force of the following metaphor, 
which we shall find to be apposite to the present sub- 
ject. You who are the parent of a number of chil- 
dren have an enemy, who, taking the advantage of 
the dusk of the evening, and by putting on some of 
your clothes and by imitating your voice deceives your 
children, so that while they think they are following 
your directions through the most dreary, unpleasant 
ways, they are zealously executing your enemy's most 
cruel injunctions. The poor deluded children some- 
times complain of their hard service, and of being 
destitute of refreshment or rest, but are told to hold on 
with good courage, that though their lot be hard at 
present, they may rest assured that as it is their kind 
father who is leading them, he will reward them ten- 
fold for all they suffer. This deception goes on until 
morning. No sooner than day-light appears, one of 
your children happens to get a glance of the haggard 
visage of your inveterate foe ! He starts back and 
refuses to go any further, and calls on his brethren 
and sisters to stop, and tells them they are all deceiv- 
ed, and are devoted to the service of their father's 
enemy. They no sooner find their error, than their 
deluder leaves them, and you find your wandering off- 
spring wounded, and half dead. When they see you 
they rejoice and fly to your embrace, deeply regret the 
delusion that has led them from you, and humbly im- 
plore your favor. The question now before you is 
this, will you now punish your emaciated offspring be- 
cause they have been deluded into misery and want f 
Your answer is anticipated. You reply, No, surely 
my children have suffered enough, I will now let them 
see that their father's yoke is easy, and that his burden 
is light. 

That this metaphor is justified by the subject, may 
be seen by the following in St. Paul's epistle to the 
Thessalonians. Speaking of the man of sin, he says ; 



225 

• Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that 
is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as 
God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
that he is God." If the beast spoken of in Revelations 
had not deceived the people he surely never would 
have been worshipped. And if we examine the pas- 
sage which speaks of the torment endured by the wor- 
shippers of the beast, we shall see that the worship- 
pers are thus tormented, while they worship. No- 
tice these words ; u And they have no rest day nor 
night, who worship the beast." Have and worship, 
are in the same tense. And we have no more au- 
thority for supposing that the worshippers of the beast 
are to be tormented any longer than they worship him, 
than for supposing that they were thus tormented be- 
fore they worshipped him. 

The hearer will also carefully notice these words ; 
' They have no rest day nor night." Here we find 
the present tense and the present state distinctly set 
forth. " They have no rest;" that is, they are now 
destitute of rest, " Day nor night" That is, here, 
where time is divided by day and night. 

Having ascertained that this torment is during day 
and night, and while the tormented are worshipping 
the beast, it will contribute much to the settling of the 
subject, to know how long this beast is to be worship- 
ped. In the 13th chapter of the Revelations, we have 
the account wanted, it reads thus ; " And there was 
given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and 
blasphemies ; and power was given unto him to con- 
tinue forty and two months." In the 11th chapter, 
we are informed that the Gentiles should tread the 
holy city under foot forty and two months. This is 
the same forty and two months, which the beast had 
power to continue. 

Now if we multiply forty-two by thirty, the number 
of days which the Jews allowed to a month, the 
amount is twelve hundred and sixty days. This is ex- 
actly the same time which the two witnesses were to 
prophecy in sackcloth, as we read in chapter 11th, 
" And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they 



226 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

shall prophecy a thousand two hundred and three- 
score days, clothed in sackcloth." One thousand two 
hundred and three score, is twelve hundred and sixty. 
This is the same period with the three days and an half 
which the dead bodies of the two witnesses were to lie 
in the street of the great city, which is spiritually call- 
ed Sodom and Egypt. If we call a day a year, three 
years and an half contain forty and two months. 
And this is the same as the time, times, and half a time 
which the woman, of whom we read in the 12th chap- 
ter, was to be in the wilderness. Calling these times 
prophetic years, we find the forty and two months, 
which afford the twelve hundred and sixty days, which 
we may suppose are so many years. 

Twelve hundred and sixty natural years is as long 
a time as can be allowed for the continuance of the 
beast, of his worship, or the torment of his worship- 
pers with fire and brimstone, which is the second 
death. 

It is evident, beyond all dispute, that there is no 
more propriety in carrying the second death, or lake 
of fire and brimstone into the eternal world, than there 
is in supposing that the forty and two months the beast 
had power to continue, are to be reckoned in the eter- 
nal world ; or in supposing that the holy city will be 
trodden under foot of the Gentiles in the eternal 
world ; or in supposing that the two witnesses will 
prophecy clothed in sackcloth in the eternal world ; 
or that their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great 
city called Sodom and Egypt, three days and an half, 
in the eternal world ; or that the woman will be in 
the wilderness a time, times and half a time in the 
eternal world. 

This representation of the religion and doctrines cf 
the church of antichrist, by fire and brimstone agrees 
with the prophecy of Isaiah, recorded in his 34th chap- 
ter. ' ; And the streams thereof shall be turned into 
pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the 
land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not 
be quenched night nor day, the smoke thereof shall go 
up forever ; from generation to generation it shall lie 
waste ; none shall pass through it forever and ever." 



227 

It would seem that a land of this description could 
not be inhabited by any creature whatever ; but the 
prophet says ; " But the Cormorant and the Bittern 
shall possess it; the Owl also and the Raven shall 
dwell in it." He further supposes that wild beasts 
will dwell in this land of brimstone and fire, and says ; 
" There shall the great Owl make her nest, and lay 
and hatch, and gather under her shadow." This lan- 
guage is so similar to the account we have of this fire 
and brimstone in Revelations, that we may suppose they 
both relate to the same subject. 

The unclean beasts and birds, mentioned by Isaiah, 
are the same as mentioned in Revelations 18th. 
" Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become 
the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul 
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." 

It seems to have been the design of prophecy, to 
represent the church and her doctrines by a land whose 
very dust is brimstone, and whose streams are burning 
pitch, and her clergy and rulers by unclean birds and 
ravenous beasts. And it is certain that the church 
of antichrist, with its rulers, its clergy, its doctrines, 
and superstitions, has answered the description in 
full. 

We will now endeavor to show that the characters 
mentioned in our text are those who answer to the 
worshippers of the beast, that, they are the unclean 
beasts and birds of Babylon, and that their doctrine in 
room of being a pure river of the water of life, is fire 
and brimstone by which they are tormented. 

The first character mentioned in our text is the fear- 
ful. Fear is the very foundation of antichristian reli- 
gion. It views God in the character of a most vora- 
cious beast. It worships him with a view to pacify 
his wrath. It represents him as full of vengeance to- 
wards all who do not render him faithful service, and 
supposes that he will punish them unmercifully, if 
they do not yield to his requirements. This religion 
says, take away the fear of eternal damnation, and I 
would never worship God again, I would pay no regard 
to his ordinances. 



228 

This religion is in fact a stream of fire and brim- 
stone, fire, because it is full of zeal, and brimstone, be- 
cause it destroys the reason of its votaries. There is 
nothing which more suddenly destroys the regular ac- 
tion of the brain, than sulphur. Fear is of this nature, 
it sets reason at defiance. So has the religion of the 
church. It says, reason has nothing to do with reli- 
gion. What St. John says of fear and love seem very 
appropriate in this place. He says " Fear hath tor- 
ment," and again; "Perfect love casteth out fear." 

The unbelieving is the second character mentioned. 
But who are unbelievers? They are those whose 
creeds contradict the faith of Abraham. God promis- 
ed Abraham, that in him, and in his seed, all the na- 
tions of the earth should be blessed. And it is said, 
that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him 
for righteousness. Abraham was therefore called the 
friend of God, and the father of the faithful. Now 
those who believe in that Babylonish creed which ex- 
cludes a great part of mankind from the blessings of 
Jesus and his grace, are the unbelieving mentioned in 
our text. These unbelievers suppose that they are 
the only true believers on earth, and their belief is like 
fire and brimstone, and the more firmly they believe, 
the more intensely they are burnt. They have their 
part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, 
which is the second death. 

How much is a man's part in this torment ? Just 
so much as will correspond with the perverseness of 
his abominable belief. In the same ratio as they be- 
lieve, they are tormented, and as far as they doubt they 
find relief. 

The abominable is the third character mentioned. 
There are many sinful practices,which are called abom- 
inable in scripture ; one may be mentioned, of which 
Israel was guilty, and by which the christian church 
has become contaminated. In his 16th chapter, Eze- 
kiel charges Jerusalem of having committed more 
abominations than were committed by Sodom and 
her daughters ; and among those the following is stat- 
ed; " Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daugh- 



BALLOIj's LECTURES. 229 

ters, whom thou hast born unto me, and these hast 
thou sacrificed unto them (idols) to be devoured." 
This has been done in the antichristian church, by that 
doctrine which consigns little children to everlasting 
torment, for the glory of that idol god, who delights in 
such cruelty. Every soul that believes this doctrine is 
tormented day and night. If they have children how 
are their souls tormented with the fearful apprehension 
of their everlasting destruction ? 

Murderers are the fourth class. " He that loveth 
not his brother is a murderer." And that antichristian 
doctrine which teaches that God hates his creatures 
has caused men to hate one another, and to put thou- 
sands to death. This murderous, persecuting spirit 
is a perpetual fire, and torments every soul that pos- 
sesses it. 

Whoremongers are the 5th class. These are those 
who get their living by means of spiritual adultery, un- 
der the direction of the mother of harlots. These are 
unclean birds. Isaiah calls them Owls, Satires, Ra- 
vens, &,c. He says ; " There shall the great Owl 
make her nest, and lay and hatch, and gather under 
her shadow." This is an unclean bird that is afraid 
of the light. 

Sorcerers are the sixth character. These are fa- 
mous for their wisdom, and very deep understanding 
in dark mysterious matters. They know every thing 
about another world ; and in their own conceit, or 
pretensions can inform people concerning what they 
call heaven and hell. These are a torment to them- 
selves. 

Idolaters form the seventh class. These are all who 
worship the false god, who sits in the temple of God, 
showing himself to be God. 

Liars are mentioned last. The author of our text, 
has given a description of a liar. He says ; " Who is 
a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ ; he 
is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." 

These worshippers of the beast are the dead, small 
and great, which John saw stand before God ; who 
were judged out of those things which were written in 
20 



230 

the books, which are the doctrines of men, according 
to their works. They had received the mark and name 
of the beast, therefore their names were not in the 
Lamb's book, or doctrine of life. These were cast in- 
to the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second 
death. 

The hearer is requested to observe that the argu- 
ments to which we have attended, go to prove that the 
false doctrines of antichrist constitute the second death, 
and the lake of fire and brimstone, and that these doc- 
trines perpetually torment them who believe them. 
Our reasoning disallows the continuance of this tor- 
ment after those doctrines of antichrist shall be discon- 
tinued. The worshippers of the beast will be torment- 
ed as long as they worship him ; but he had power 
given him to continue only forty and two months. 
The hearer is likewise requested to observe, what has 
already been noticed, that in order to extend the se- 
cond death or lake of fire and brimstone into anoth- 
er state of existence, we must also carry the time of 
the church in the wilderness, the time of the prophe- 
cying of the two witnesses, in sackcloth, and the forty 
and two months of the reign of the beast into a future 
state. All which is palpably absurd. 

My brethren, this discourse will close with the fol- 
lowing divine injunction ; " Come out of her my peo- 
ple, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
receive not of her plagues." 






LECTURE XVII. 

SALVATION, A DEI IVERANCE FROM ERROR AND SIN, 
THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD. 

2 TIMOTHY \.9, 10. 

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our 
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, winch was given us in 
Christ Jesus before the *vorld began: — But it is now made manifest by the 
appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath 
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 

Our first inquiry will be directed to ascertain what 
the Apostle means by the word saved. With a view 
to bring this subject to the understanding of the hear- 
er, in as plain and as profitable a manner as possible, 
we shall attempt in the first place to examine the com- 
mon doctrine of the church respecting salvation, and 
in the second place bring the scripture testimony on 
the subject into view, that the difference between the 
common doctrine and the divine testimony may dis- 
tinctly appear. 

What we propose to examine in the first place is 
found in the following statement, which is here quoted 
from the shorter chatechism ; " All mankind by the 
fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and 
curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, 
to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever." This 
is the miserable state into which man fell, according to 
the sentiment under examination; and from which 
God provided menns to save some, accordingly as is 
expressed thus ; " God having out of his mere good 
pleasure from all eternity, elected some to everlasting 
life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them 
out of the state of sin and misery, and to bring them 
into a state of salvation by a Redeemer." 

It is evident that the learned divines, who compos- 



232 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ed this creed, designed to apply the doctrine of salva- 
tion in a way to save the elect from the everlasting 
pains of hell, more specially than to save them from 
the miseries of this life and from death ; for it is a 
fact well known to all, that whoever these elected ones 
may be, they are subject to death as well as others, 
and it is generally thought that they have a larger 
share of the miseries of this life. 

This common doctrine of salvation may therefore 
be stated thus ; All mankind, the elect and non-elect 
by the fall are under God's wrath and curse, which 
curse is the pains of hell after the death of the body 
and forever; but in conformity to a decree of God, 
made from all eternity, there is a Redeemer provided, 
to save the elect from this everlasting curse. 

Having now before us the doctrine of salvation as it 
has been held in the christian church for a long time, 
and as it is now held and taught to old and young, 
let us attempt to examine its propriety. And let this 
be done with all that candor which is due to all sub- 
jects of moment, and especially to this which evidently 
involves the character of the divine Being. Let it be 
done too with that charity towards the framers of this 
creed and towards those who now believe in it, which 
holds the higest rank among the christian virtues ; for 
certain it is that this candor and charity are necessary 
to be kept in constant exercise, among such short- 
sighted, benighted creatures. 

On approaching the proposition before us, the follow- 
ing absurdities present themselves. 

1st. It is absurd to say, that those whom God elect- 
ed from all eternity to be saved by a Redeemer, are li- 
able to the pains of hell forever. 

2d. It appears absurd to say, that those whom God 
entered into a covenant to save, are under his wrath 
and curse, by which everlasting misery hereafter is in- 
tended. 

3d. This scheme of salvation accuses the divine Be- 
ing of partiality in the most direct manner. It states 
that all mankind are in one condition, all under God's 
wrath and curse, and all liable to the pains of hell for- 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 



233 






ever ; but that though all are in one condition, the 
scheme of salvation embraces only a part without ex- 
tending the least benefit to the rest. 

4th. The doctrine under examination supposes that 
the divine Being has condemned millions of unborn 
infants to the pains of hell forever, for an act which 
Adam and Eve committed in the garden of Eden, 
which certainly appears to be unjust in the extreme. 

Let candor look, for one moment, at these absurdi- 
ties and improprieties, and at the same time let chari- 
ty kindly impute them to the imperfection of our com- 
mon nature. 

A body of learned divines have said after much deep 
study and profound deliberation, that God from all 
eternity elected some of the human race unto salvation 
by a Redeemer, and at the same time say, that these 
elected ones are under his curse which is the pains 
of hell forever in the future world. These learned 
doctors, who knew that the scriptures assert the im- 
partiality of God, and who professed to believe that 
he is no respecter of persons, have limited his eternal 
mercy to but a part of mankind, and have excluded 
the rest from his favor forever. Notwithstanding they 
well knew, that it is repugnant to the law of God to 
condemn the innocent, and that the divine Being hath 
said, " the son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the 
father," yet for one act of Adam they have condemn- 
ed all mankind to a state of endless misery. 

According to these tenets thousands of millions of 
unhappy wretches have already been sent to this hell, 
of which these divines speak, without ever knowing 
until they got there, that there ever was an Adam, or 
that he had sinned and involved them in this awful ca- 
lamity to all eternity. How many millions of infants, 
of people who were educated in christian countries, 
have gone from this world before they were old enough 
to understand the horrible story framed by these di- 
vines ; but much more numerous still is the number 
of those who were born in heathen lands and never 
heard of any part of the christian scriptures, much less, 
if possible of this antiscriptural creed. 
20* 



234 

Such is the general corruption of the christian doc- 
trine, introduced by the creed under consideration, 
that all which people think of being saved from is the 
pains of hell hereafter. 

On this notion sermons in general have been framed, 
and carefully directed to instruct people in the way 
by which they may be saved from this hell in the fu- 
ture state. 

This future misery is the gloomy subject, which is 
presented to people's minds, in all the vivid forms 
which imagination and the most powerful eloquence 
have been able to set forth, in order to terrify the mind 
and to call into action the most fearful apprehensions 
of which the human mind is susceptible. All this is 
considered necessary in order to lead sinners to repent- 
ance, by which they may avoid this state of torment. 

This scheme of doctrine leads the mind to under- 
stand the scriptures, which speak of saving sinners, 
to mean the saving them from hell in the eternal 
world, or from the wrath and curse of God hereafter. 

The hearer is requested to take this common opin- 
ion into careful consideration and compare it with the 
scripture testimony. First examine to see if you can 
find this wrath and curse of God resting on all man- 
kind, of which such careful mention is made in the 
creed to which we have alluded. 

After a careful and patient examination of the divine 
testimony, your humble servant has unspeakable joy in 
being able to say that this wrath and curse of God is 
no where recorded in the scriptures. 

When those doctors who framed the creed under- 
took to describe the consequences of the first trans 
gression, did they at all confine themselves to the 
divine word ? No surely they did not ; for if they 
had done this, they would not have found that God 
pronounced any curse even on Adam and Eve them- 
selves, much less on all mankind for what these two 
did. 

If this unaccountable notion of the wrath and curse 
of God were a truth would it not have been announc- 
ed by the Creator on his first visit to his sinful chil- 



BALLOTS LECTURES. 235 

dren ? But did the merciful Father of our spirits in- 
timate to Adam and Eve, that they had brought his 
wrath and curse, which are eternal misery, not only on 
themselves, but on all their numerous, unborn off- 
spring ? 

No, blessed be his name, he mentioned but two 
curses, and one of them was on the serpent, and the 
other was on the ground. And in room of saying one 
word concerning cursing all mankind with the pains 
of hell in a future state, the divine Being did not in- 
timate that even the serpent himself would be subject 
to any infelicity beyond his natural life. " Dust shalt 
thou eat all the days of thy life ; " and beyond this 
there was no intimation. It was said to 'the serpent ; 
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and 
between thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise thy head 
and thou shalt bruise his heel." Here in room of 
God's wrath and curse on our first parents, is a bless- 
ed and glorious promise of a final victory over, and 
deliverance from the power of the tempter. 

Let us next inquire for the scripture testimony con- 
cerning salvation, and endeavor to understand what 
we are saved from, and by what means we are saved. 

On this particular, less will be necessary than would 
be required if the same had not been noticed in some 
of our former lectures ; yet such is the importance of 
the doctrine under consideration, as to justify its fre- 
quent investigation. 

It. was said by the Angel of God, to Joseph, con- 
cerning the child Jesus, " Thou shalt call his name Je- 
sus for be shall save his people from their sins." Ac- 
cording to this, that from which Jesus saves us, is our 
sins. But according to the common doctrine, it. seems 
that the angel would have said ; thou shalt call his 
name Jesus for he shall save the elect from the wrath 
and curse of God in the future world. 

In justifying himself before the scribes and Pharisees, 
who accused him of receiving sinners and eating with 
them, our Saviour represented sinners by a sheep gone 
astray, and the repentance and salvation of sinners 
he represented by the return of the lost sheep to the 



236 

fold, by the diligent concern and care of the shepherd. 
Let us here ask, what the sheep that went astray was 
saved from ? Was it saved from the wrath and curse 
of its owner? Had the shepherd any decree out 
against the comfort and life of this strayed member 
of his floc*k ? Would it not seem absurd in the ex- 
treme to pretend that the shepherd went after the 
sheep with a view to save it from his own vengeance ? 
The fact is, the sheep was saved from its wanderings 
and from all the inconveniences of the condition into 
which it had wandered. 

The parable of the prodigal son is another beautiful 
representation of the salvation of sinners, and is found 
in connexion with the parable of the lost sheep, and 
used by the Saviour for the same purpose. 

But what was the Prodigal finally saved from by be- 
ing brought to repentance, and to his father's house ? 
Was he saved from any wrath and curse of his father ? 
Had the father any unmerciful decree out against his 
son's life or happiness ! When the returning son was 
yet a great way off, and the father's compassion urged 
him to run and meet his child, was this parental effort, 
and all the mighty tide of compassion manifested on 
that occasion exerted to save this son from his father's 
wrath and curse ? 

The hearer cannot but see that nothing could be 
more unreasonable than this notion. And yet is it 
not as plain as the sun at noon, that the common 
doctrine of salvation is predicated exactly on this 
absurdity ? Does it not explain scripture in a way to 
represent the divine Creator as exerting the means of 
his grace to save sinners from his own wrath and curse ? 
Does it not hold up the idea that God sent his son to 
suffer and die for sinners, in order to save them from 
this curse of the Father, which curse is said to be the 
pains of hell forever? Does it not constantly hold 
forth the notion, that the ministry of the gospel is now 
exerting all its energies and means to snatch sinners 
away from the divine wrath, as brands are plucked 
from a fire ? 

The divine instructor on another similar occasion 









BALLOTj's LECTURES. 237 

to the one we have just noticed, made use of the fol- 
lowing simile ; " The whole need not the physician, 
but they that are sick. For the Son of man is not 
come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 

As the Saviour represented the case of the sinner by 
one who is sick, and the salvation of the sinner by the 
recovery of the sick to health by means of a physi- 
cian, we may ask, if it could be reconciled with rea- 
son and common sense, to pretend that the physician 
exerts his skill and the power of his medicine to save 
his patient from his wrath and indignation ? 

The fact is, my christian friends, Jesus who dwells 
in the bosom of the Father, never represented his doc- 
trine of salvation to be in any sense like the doctrine 
of the church which we have examined. Our heaven- 
ly Father, as manifested in his Son, and as held up by 
the preaching of Jesus, loves his enemies, loves sin- 
ners, and because he loves them he sent his Son to be 
the propitiation for our sins. He sent him to save us 
from our sins, and to reconcile us to God. 

St. Paul to the Colossians says of God ; " Who 
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and 
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." 

This passage very plainly shows us the nature of 
that salvation of which our text speaks. It is a salva- 
tion from error, deception, ignorance and all their evils, 
to truth, knowledge, understanding and all their bless- 
ings. 

To the Ephesians he says, that " Christ loved the 
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify, 
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word ; 
that he might present it to himself a glorious church, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing : but 
that it should be holy and without blemish." 

Let us carefully examine this representation, for 
here the apostle informs us the object which Christ had 
in view when he gave himself for the church. And 
what was it ? Was it to appease his Father's wrath ? 
Was it to reconcile the Father to the church ? Was 
it to save the church from God's wrath and curse in 
the eternal world ? 



238 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

No, my brethren, Jesus gave himself for the church 
that he might sanctify and cleanse it. The church 
was in an unsanctified, unclean state, and the gos- 
pel or doctrine of Christ is that water or word by 
which he cleanses and saves it from its uncleanness, 
Christ saves his church from ail spots and wrinkles, 
and presents it to himself a glorious church. Hark 
and hear those sons and daughters speak in loud 
exclaim ; " Thou hast loved us and washed us from 
our sins in thine own blood." 

Our next endeavors will be directed to illustrate 
what the Apostle means by the holy calling, with 
which he accompanies our salvation, and to show the 
natural connexion in which they stand to each other. 

This subject may be seen most clearly by a little 
improvement of the similes which were used to repre- 
sent the nature of salvation. But we may commence 
these remarks by recurring to the words of the Angel 
to Joseph ; " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he 
shall save his people from their sins." Now. it ap- 
pears very consistent that when Jesus saves a sinner 
from his sins, he should at the same time call him to 
walk in holiness of life. Otherwise what benefit could 
there result from this salvation ? 

If what is meant by saving the sinner, is to save him 
from the penalty of the law, it is true such a salvation 
might be entirely disconnected with a holy calling. If 
a man, for instance, have stolen, for which crime the 
law says he shall be thus and so punished, and we 
wish to save him from receiving such punishment, 
there would be no necessary connexion between such 
salvation and the reformed and virtuous conduct of 
this man. But if the object be to save the man from 
being a thief, it is absolutely necessary in this case to 
furnish the man with such moral sentiments, and such 
a sense of moral virtue as will prevent his repeating 
the crime. 

There seems to be an evident connexion likewise, 
between bringing the lost sheep back to the fold, and 
such measures as might be necessary to prevent it 
from again going astray ; for if the propensity to wan- 









BALLOU's LECTURES. 239 

der still remains, and there be no provisions to prevent 
indulgence, there would seem an impropriety in mak- 
ing those exertions by which the sheep was found and 
returned to the fold. 

This subject is very clearly seen in the case of the 
reformed prodigal. If after he had returned to his 
father's house, and had been there most kindly re- 
ceived ; if after all his penitence and reformation ; if 
after he had been clothed with the best robe, had shoes 
put on his feet, and his father's ring upon his hand ; if 
after partaking of the fatted calf and the joys of the 
family on this occasion, he had again turned his back 
on his father, and again acted the prodigal, the joy that 
had lighted up the countenances of the family would 
most surely have been turned into mourning, and in 
room, of festivity, fasting would be more suitable to the 
occasion. 

But it is most clearly seen that every circumstance 
which contributed to the return of this lost son, and all 
the favor which was shown him by his father, togeth- 
er with all the enjoyments of the full and well replen- 
ished house to which he was welcomed, called, in the 
most persuasive manner, on him who had been dead, 
but made alive, who had been lost, but, was found, to 
take heed to his ways, to stand fast in the liberty 
wherewith his father had made him free, that he might 
continue to enjoy those invaluable blessings. 

My christian friends, has our merciful Father in hea- 
ven condescended to forgive us all our trespasses, has 
ne clothed us with the white linen of the righteousness 
of Christ, have we tasted that the Lord is gracious, 
and been permitted to set at his table, and to feast on 
those rich provisions with which Zion is blessed ? 
And do not these favors call us with an holy calling, 
to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with 
God? 

This same Apostle has signified the sentiment of our 
text, in the following words to Titus ; " For the grace 
of God which bringeth salvation hath appeared to all 
men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and world- 
ly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly 



240 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto 
himself a peculiar people zealous of good works." 
Here is redemption from all iniquity, and purification 
unto good works. And this is again expressed in the 
following words to the Ephesians ; "For by grace are 
ye saved through faith ; and that not of yourselves ; 
it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should 
boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ 
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before or- 
dained that we should walk in them." One passage 
more may suffice on this particular. St. Peter ad- 
dresses his brethren as follows ; " Grace and peace be 
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, 
and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power 
hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and 
godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath 
called us to glory and virtue ; whereby are given unto 
us exceeding great and precious promises ; that by 
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, hav- 
ing escaped the corruption that is in the world through 
lust. And, beside this, giving all diligence, add to 
your faith, virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and to 
knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; 
and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, brother- 
ly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For 
if these things be in you, and abound, they make you 
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the 
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that 
lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, 
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old 
sins. Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to 
make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do 
these things ye shall never fall ; for so an entrance shall 
be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlast- 
ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

By the similes and passages which we have employ- 
ed in the illustration of this section of our text, it ap- 
pears that holiness of life is a requisition enjoined by 






BALLOU'S LECTUREb. 241 

the gospel, and that this holiness of conduct should be 
considered as properly connected with our salvation 
from sin. 

In the passage quoted from St. Peter, we may no- 
tice particularly that we are required to add to our 
faith the christian graces, such as virtue, knowledge, 
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, 
and charity, with the assurance, that if these things 
be in us, and abound, our fruitfulness in the know- 
ledge of our Lord will be such whereby an entrance 
will be administered unto us abundantly into the ever- 
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 

The conclusion then is evident, that although we 
may profess the true faith, yet if we do not attend to 
our holy calling, our faith becomes dead, cannot work 
by love, nor purify the heart. 

Let us therefore, my brethren, endeavor to adorn 
the doctrine of God our Saviour, by walking worthy 
of the vocation wherewith we are called. 

Our text informs us that our salvation and calling 
are not according to our works, but according to the 
purpose and grace of God, which was given us in 
Christ Jesus, before the world began. By this we un- 
derstand, that as early as the divine Being purposed 
the gift of Jesus Christ to the world of mankind, he 
gave us in him this salvation and holy calling. This 
grant therefore, could not be governed by the works of 
man, it could not be said to be according to our works 
for the following reasons. 

1st. It was given us in Jesus Christ before we were 
either born or had done good or evil. 

This subject may be represented by the following 
similes. When the Almighty made the earth, the sun, 
the moon, and all things for the convenience of all 
creatures, he gave the present generation of men the 
earth, the sun, the moon, and all material things. This 
gift, being in the constitution of nature, and made sure 
to us ages before we were born, could not have been 
given as a reward for our works. 

Again, When the Creator formed Adam, and con- 
21 



242 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

stituted him the natural father of us all, he then gave 
us, in him, eyes, with which we see, ears, with which 
we hear, mouth's with which we speak, feet, with 
which we walk, and hands, with which we labor. 
And it is very evident, that these gifts were not given 
us as a compensation for our works. But it appears 
very clear that our duty, and natural calling, to make 
proper use of our eyes, our ears, our mouths, our feet, 
and our hands was given us in that constitution in 
which those natural faculties were given. 

Though we are much crowded for want of time to 
illustrate the several remaining particulars contained in 
our text, we feel pressed to mention in this place, the 
error so frequently urged on us by those who exhort us 
to get an interest in Christ. The hearer will perceive 
by these plain arguments, and the passage under con- 
sideration, that we all had an interest in Jesus Christ 
before the world began. And you will further observe 
that there is just as much propriety in exhorting people 
to get an interest in Adam so that they may inherit 
from him the natural faculties of the body, as to ex- 
hort us to get an interest in Christ. But it is not only 
proper, but highly necessary that all adhere to the 
exhortation to improve all temporal and all spiritual 
blessings and gifts in a way to honor the benevolent 
giver. 

2d. If the Apostle made a comparison between his 
former conduct, when he was among the persecutors 
of Christ, his doctrine, and his disciples, he might very 
justly say that the salvation which he had obtained by 
the gospel, and the holy calling with which he was 
called were not according to his former works. And 
if the comparison be made between the conduct of 
others, and this salvation, the result is expressed by 
the Apostle to Titus as follows ; " For we ourselves 
also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, 
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and 
envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that 
the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man 
appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have 
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by 



243 

the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the ho- 
ly Ghost ; which he shed on us abundantly through 
Jesus Christ our Saviour." 

Having made these important statements to which 
we have attended, the Apostle proceeds in the conclu- 
sion of our text, to speak of the vast utility of the ap- 
pearing of Jesus Christ in our world, which was to 
make those things manifest by abolishing death and 
bringing life and immortality to light through the gos- 
pel. 

It is perfectly consistent with the nature of things, 
and with common observation, that the manifesta- 
tion of things is subsequent to their being estab- 
lished in the counsel of him who ordains them. And 
as it would be a mistake of no small magnitude to at- 
tribute to the manifestation of things, the cause of their 
existence, so it is an error of extensive magnitude, to 
attribute to the manifestation or appearance of Jesus 
Christ, and what he did in our world, the cause of that 
gift which was made sure to us, in him, before the 
world began. 

The divine truths taught by the Saviour, the doc- 
trine of God's love to sinners, the forgiveness of sins, 
were all as true before the birth, preaching, and suf- 
ferings of Jesus, as they have been since. The glori- 
ous doctrine of the resurrection and of future eternal 
life was as true before the process of Jesus commenc- 
ed, as since. This accounts for all the passages which 
represent our Saviour as the faithful and true witness. 
It agrees with his own words to Pilate ; " For this 
cause was I born, and to this end came I into the 
world, that I should bear witness to the truth." And 
the same thing is meant by St. Paul to the Romans ; 
" But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, 
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 

It seems that all which the Saviour did, was de- 
signed as a manifestation of those divine things, which 
our heavenly Father had given us before the world be- 
gan. Things that had been kept secret from the foun- 
dation of the world were made known when this sun 



244 BALLOIj's LECTURES. 

of righteousness arose with healing in his beams. So 
does the rising sun, which makes our natural day, mani- 
fest the surrounding objects, which the darkness of 
night had obscured from our sight. 

The resurrection of Jesus made manifest the aboli- 
tion of death- It brought to open light what was 
shown unto Moses at the bush, when God said ; " I am 
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living, for all live unto him." 

Our text informs us, that Jesus Christ hath not only 
abolished death, but hath brought life and immortality 
to light through the gospel. This form of expression 
fully acknowledges that life and immortality were di- 
vine facts in the economy of God before the coming of 
Christ, but that his process was necessary to make 
these glorious things known to mankind. 

To conclude, the arguments to which we have at- 
tended are designed to show that the common notion 
of saving mankind from the wrath and curse of God in 
the eternal world is without foundation, either in scrip- 
ture or reason ; and that according to the scriptures 
our immortality and eternal life were established in the 
economy of divine wisdom before man existed. Also, 
that the salvation which the gospel of Jesus Christ ef- 
fects for us, is a salvation from our sins, from our wan- 
derings, from the darkness of our deceived minds, from 
all uncleanness, to righteousness, to reconciliation to 
God, to the knowledge of the truth, and to holiness of 
life. 

And if it be asked, what there is for us to do, if we 
believe this doctrine, we reply in the words of divine 
truth, which have been already noticed. " Giving all 
diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue, 
knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to 
temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; 
and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly 
kindness, charity. 

Furthermore, if we be asked, what reward we may 
expect for our careful attention to these virtues, we 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. • 245 

again reply ; In keeping the commandments there is 
great reward. Great peace have they that love the 
law, and nothing shall offend them. "And the work 
of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of right- 
eousness, quietness, and assurance forever." 



21* 



LECTURE XVIII 

EXPLANATION OF MATT. XXIV. AND XXV. 

MATTHEW xxv. 4P. 

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the righteotw 
into life eternal. 

While calling the attention of this congregation to 
the consideration of this portion of our Saviour's testi- 
mony, many difficulties are presented to the mind of 
the speaker ; some of which it may be profitable to 
name. 

1. The long established use and application of this 
text, by commentators, preachers, and all denomina- 
tions of christians stand in direct opposition, in one 
important particular, to the use and application which 
your servant feels himself obligated to make of it. 
The particular alluded to is the applying of this 
text to a future state of our existence. And to this 
may be added another particular, nearly as univer- 
sally assented to as the former, which is the belief that 
this text proves the endless duration of misery. 

2d. The power of tradition in the human mind forms 
the most material difficulty which seems to oppose our 
attempt to bring the true meaning of our Saviour, in 
the passage before us, to the hearer's understanding. 
It is vain, my friends, to pretend that we are free in 
our minds from the force of education. Indeed we 
ought not to be. We were wisely so constituted, that 
what we imbibe in our youth should fix a lasting pre- 
possession in our minds, in favor of opinions which are 
recommended by our instructors, and against those 
which we have been taught to view erroneous. But 
we should do well to consider, that while it is acknow- 
ledged that great benefits arise from this natural and 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 247 

necessary bias of the human mind, it is equally true, 
that it may often so happen as to produce effects most 
pernicious. Solomon says ; " train up a child in the 
way he should go, and when he is old he will not de- 
part from it." Here the author relies on the force of 
education, and gives a most wholesome advice to those 
who have the charge of children, to bring them up in 
the way they should go. And it is furthermore evi- 
dent that the recommendation designed to guard 
against the unhappy effects of the same power in a 
case where an erroneous education should be imposed 
on youth. 

Having been taught in our tender years that our 
heavenly Father has ordained a state of the most 
dreadful torment in the future state for those who are 
sinners in this world, and having been instructed at the 
same time to apply the text under consideration, togeth- 
er with almost all passages of scripture, which speak of 
the punishment of the wicked to this future state of 
misery, it has become as habitual for the mind to ap- 
ply such passages to this future misery, as to apply the 
names London, Boston, and Philadelphia to the Cities 
of these names ; or as to apply the names Washington, 
Franklin, and Adams to the distinguished statesmen of 
these names. 

Under these circumstances, the opposer of divine 
truth has nothing to do, but to rest upon the prejudice 
of the public mind. He comes forward with all possi- 
ble assurance and boldly asserts that our Saviour has 
laid it down in the most solemn and unequivocal man- 
ner that " He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved and he that believeth not shall be damned ;" 
laying an emphasis on the damnatory term that causes 
our nerves to tremble. He depends entirely on the 
prepossessions of the public mind to apply this damna- 
tion to a future state ; an application in no way inti- 
mated by our Saviour, and by no means intimated 
by any words in connexion with the passage. 

In the same way the preacher, who applies our text 
to a state of punishment in the future world, mana- 
ges with the prejudice of his hearers. He says ; the 



248 

divine teacher himself has told us, that at the last judg- 
ment, when all the dead are raised and brought to the 
tremendous bar of God, the sinner will be placed on 
the left hand, and sentenced to everlasting punishment. 
He depends entirely on the blind prejudice of his 
hearers' minds to justify his assertions, and the applica- 
tion he makes of the text. There is not a word in 
the text nor in any part of its connexions, that inti- 
mates any thing about a resurrection of any from the 
dead, or that the judgment treated of in this chapter 
is the last judgment, or that any part of the subject 
belongs to a future state. 

But notwithstanding the embarrassments which have 
been named, and another which is by no means in- 
considerable, the very limited abilities of the speaker, 
which are sensibly felt as inadequate to make a prop- 
er arrangement of the momentous subject before us, 
and altogether unequal to the task of contending 
against the host of prejudices which are marshalled 
against the simplicity that is in Christ, yet there are 
two considerations which are highly encouraging. 
The testimony of Jesus which lies before us, and which 
stands connected with our text makes our subject so 
very plain that it seems to promise conviction to eve- 
ry mind ; and the remarkable candor which has char- 
acterised this congregation, while attending to this 
course of lectures, gives that support to the speaker, 
without which he would have been discouraged. 

It may be well for us to raise some queries respect- 
ing the general use of this portion of scripture, by 
which the mind of the hearer may be the better pre- 
pared to seek for its true application. 

1st. As this passage is usually applied to a future 
state, let us ask whether in order to justify such an ap- 
plication it be not indispensable that some part of the 
testimony in connexion with the text should designate 
that it belongs, not to this state, but to a future 
world? For instance, should the speaker, this eve 
ning contend that this twenty-fifth of Matthew treat- 
ed of things which took place before Noah's flood, 
should you not feel justisfied in opposing such an ex- 



BALLOTS LECTURES. 249 

travagant statement by saying, that there is not a sin- 
gle intimation in the whole chapter that gives any 
countenance to it ? You certainly would. Then be 
so candid, kind hearer, as to acknowledge, that in or- 
der to justify the application of this scripture to a fu- 
ture state of existence, there must be found something 
in the testimony that so applies it. 

2d. As it is the current opinion that in order for 
the accomplishment of the judgment treated of in this 
chapter, all the dead must be raised, have we not a 
right to contend, that in order to support this opinion, 
the resurrection of the dead should be distinctly stated 
somewhere in the general account? 

If the speaker should now say, that according to 
the testimony of the Saviour concerning the judgment 
in the 25th of Matthew, the gift of speech will be 
given to all the beasts, to all the birds, and to all the 
fishes ; and that at that time we shall hear them all 
talk in our native language, if you thought proper to 
refute such a visionary notion, would it not be suffi-. 
cient to say that there is nothing in the chapter or its 
connexion that gives any authority for such a state- 
ment ? It is hoped then that you will acknowledge, 
that if it be allowed that all the dead will be raised be- 
fore the judgment, recorded in this chapter, can take 
place, we must be able to find authority for this opin- 
ion in the account before us. 

3d. As it is held that the judgment of which we 
read in this chapter is the last judgment, is it not very 
proper that we should be able to find some proof of 
this idea in some part of the testimony of the divine 
instructor ? 

But in relation to these particulars, we feel confi- 
dent in what has already been said, that there is no 
intimation in the whole account before us, that this 
judgment is the last judgment, or that the dead will 
be raised to be brought to it, or that it relates to a fu- 
ture state. 

The attention of the hearer is now solicited to the 
following statements, which the speaker expects to 
prove in this discourse! 



250 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

1st. The time of the judgment under consideration, 
is confined to the generation in which our Saviour lived 
on earth, according to his own testimony. 

2d. The Jews, as a people, who rejected the gos- 
pel of Christ, and persecuted his apostles were those 
who were sentenced to everlasting punishment. And, 

3d. Those who believed in Jesus and received 
the testimony, and administered to the necessities of 
his persecuted Apostles, were those that were blessed 
with life eternal. 

The better to bring those statements, accompanied 
with their proper proofs, before the mind of the 
hearer, we shall commence our examination of the 
divine testimony where the subject before us seems 
to begin. This is in the latter part of the 23d chapter. 

It seems that Jesus was in the temple where he ad 
dressed the Scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypo- 
crites, blind guides, serpents, and a generation of vi- 
pers. He then proceeds to testify to them the judg- 
ment which would come upon them, and the occasion 
of it. " Wherefore, behold, I send unto you pro- 
phets, and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them 
ye shall kill and crucify ; and some of them shall ye 
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from 
city to city : that upon you may come all the righteous 
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous 
Abel unto the blood of Zacarias, son of Barachias, 
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. 
Verily, I say unto you, all these things shall come up- 
on this generation." 

Be so good, my friends, as to remember this declar- 
ation of the Saviour. He here speaks of the most tre- 
mendous judgment that ever fell on mankind, and he 
confines the time to that generation. He then lament- 
ed over Jerusalem, spake of its desolation, and said ; 
" Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, bless- 
ed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." 

Here ends the 23d chapter, and the 24th commen- 
ces by informing us that " Jesus went out, and depart- 
ed from the temple : and his disciples came to him, for 
to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesua 



BALLOTj's LECTURES. 251 

said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily I 
say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone 
upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 
Here it is evident, that Jesus alluded to the event of 
which he had been speaking to the Scribes and Phari- 
sees, which was the calamitous destruction and deso- 
lation of their city. 

" And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the dis- 
ciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when 
shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of 
thy coming, and of the end of the world ? 

Here let us carefully notice what is embraced in the 
questions proposed by the disciples. They asked the 
divine master, when the things which he had de- 
nounced on the Jews should take place. And also, 
what would be the sign of his coming, and of the end 
of the world. 

In reply to these questions, Jesus delivered all that 
is recorded in the remainder of this, and the following 
chapter. So that in order to understand what he 
meant in the 25th we must preserve the connexion of 
the subject, which evidently commences in the 23d, 
and continues to the end of the 25th. 

Jesus replies ; " Take heed that no man deceive 
you : for many shall come in my name, saying, I am 
Christ ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear 
of wars, and rumors of wars ; see that ye be not troub- 
led ; for all these things must come to pass, but the 
end is not yet." 

Here let us carefully inquire what Jesus meant by 
the end ? Did he here speak of the end of what the 
disciples asked him ? No doubt. For if they asked 
him concerning the end of the world, and he, in his 
reply, spake of the end of something else, and not of 
the end of the world, the answer was calculated to de- 
ceive. It is evident, therefore, that when Jesus said, 
as has been quoted; ""the end is not yet," he meant 
that the end of the world, of which his disciples asked 
him, was not yet. 

He proceeds ; " For nation shall rise against nation, 
and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be 



252 

famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers 
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and 
shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for 
my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, 
and shall betray one another, and shall hate one anoth- 
er. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall de- 
ceive many. And, because iniquity shall abound, the 
love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure 
unto the end, the same shall be saved." The end of 
what? Answer, the end of the world, of which the 
disciples asked him. 

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and 
then shall the end come." 

The end of what ? The end of the world. Ob- 
serve, the disciples asked Jesus concerning the end of 
the world, and he replies to their query. He speaks 
of the end three times. He first says; "the end is 
not yet ; " secondly, he says ; " He that endureth un- 
to the end, the same shall be saved; and lastly, he 
says ; " then shall the end come. " And as the end 
of the world was the only end spoken of, we feel safe 
in believing that Jesus meant to speak of what his dis- 
ciples meant by the end of the world. 

A hope is entertained that the attention of the hear- 
er will be successful in obtaining a clear understanding 
of what is here meant by the end of the world. We 
have been in the habit, by means of our early educa- 
tion, of supposing that by the end of the world here 
mentioned, the destruction of the natural world was 
intended. And this is now the general opinion. Re- 
ligious people suppose that the end of the world, of 
which mention is made in this chapter, means the end 
of this material system. And they expect that the 
earth, the sun, and the moon, will be literally destroy- 
ed. The speaker is apprehensive that many now in 
this congregation have these views ; and consequently 
suppose that when Jesus said ; " Then shall the end 
come, he meant the same thing as has been held up by 
our christian divines, and preached upon so much, 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 253 

and made a common topic in those frequent discourses, 
the objects of which were to terrify people with the 
thoughts of seeing the earth burn up, the dead coming 
out of their graves to judgment, and the wicked plung- 
ed into hell. 

My dear friends, if these are your views, your ser- 
vant feels no disposition to censure you, he knows too 
well the effects of tradition to blame any one for these 
notions ; but you are now called on to exercise that 
reason which distinguishes us from beasts, and consti- 
tutes us the favored subjects of a divine revelation, so 
that you may be able to form a correct judgment of 
the subject now before you. Let us carefully prooeed 
with the testimony of Jesus, and endeavor to learn the 
events with which he connects and designates the end 
of the world. 

" When ye therefore, shall see the abomination of 
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in 
the holy place, then let them which be in Judea 
flee into the mountains." When does Jesus direct 
them that be in Judea to flee into the mountains ? 
Answer, At the end of the world. But if the end of 
the world mean what tradition has taught us, why 
should those that may be in Judea at the time, when 
this earth is to be dissolved, and all the dead raised to 
judgment, flee into the mountains ? 

But we proceed. " Let him which is on the house 
top not come down to take any thing out of his house ; 
neither let him which is in the field return back to take 
tiis clothes. And wo unto them that are with child, 
nnd to them that give suck in those days ! But pray 
ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the 
sabbath day : for then shall be great tribulation, such 
as was not since the beginning of the world to this 
time, no nor ever shall be." We have been told that 
there will be an eternity of trouble, after the end of the 
world, infinitely greater than any that ever preceded; 
but here in the description of the end of the world, by 
Jesus himself, he says, there shall never be such a time 
of trouble afterward. 

By the peculiar description to which we have attend- 
22 



254 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ed, there is no reason to doubt that the Saviour was 
giving an account of the destruction of Jerusalem by 
the Romans. And it is evident, beyond all controver- 
sy, that all that was meant by the end of the world, 
was the end of the Jewish polity, and the destruction 
of the nation, the city and temple. That the hearer 
may be further satisfied, that by " the end of the 
world" is not meant what our tradition has taught, we 
notice the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews. Speak- 
ing of Jesus he says ; " But now once, in the end of 
the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the 
sacrifice of himself." The end of the world here meant 
was the end of the Levitical priesthood. 

The Saviour further says ; " Immediately after the 
tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, 
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars 
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven 
shall be shaken : and then shall appear the sign of the 
son of man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of 
the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound 
of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect 
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the 
other." Here carefully observe that Jesus speaks of 
the sign of his coming, and also of his coming with 
power and great glory ; and of his sending forth his 
angels, &c. Let us here ask the question, how we 
shall time the event here spoken of? Has this event 
ever taken place ? Tradition says, No, but it will take 
place at the dissolution of this earth. But what right 
have we to time this event ? If Jesus did not time it, 
have we a right to ? And if Jesus has timed it, have 
we a right to alter the time ? Hear his words. 

" Now learn a parable of the fig-tree : When its 
branches are yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye 
know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye 
shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at 
the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall 
not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and 
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass 
away." 



255 

By this plain, undoubtful testimony of the divine 
teacher we are authorised to believe that the time of 
which he spake, when he should come in his glory 
with his angels was in the generation in which he lived. 
He had just before told the Pharisees that all the right- 
eous blood shed upon the earth should come upon 
them, and was particular in saying ; " Verily, I say 
unto you, all these things shall come upon this genera 
tion." And now when speaking of his coming in his 
glory with his angels, he says ; " Verily I say unto 
you, this generation shall not pass till all these things 
be fulfilled." 

The Saviour proceeds to inform his disciples, that 
the particular day and hour of his coming were known 
to his Father only ; and in the whole of the remaining 
part of the chapter he refers the events of which he 
speaks to the time he had before designated and con- 
fined to that generation. This 24th chapter ends 
with an account of what should be done to an evil 
servant, who should " say in his heart, my lord delay- 
eth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow 
servants, and to eat and to drink with the drunken : 
the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he 
looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not 
aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him 
his portion with the hypocrites : there shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." As he had just before, 
in his address to the Scribes and Pharisees, called 
them hypocrites, and denounced the judgments of 
heaven upon them, he now informed his disciples, that 
if any who professed to be his servants, should get 
off their watch, should say, my Lord delayeth his com- 
ing, and should eat and drink with the drunken, and 
abuse his fellow servants, he should be placed among 
the hypocrites on whom he had denounced those 
judgments. 

The 25th chapter begins with the word then, by 
which it it evident that the speaker meant to refer to 
the time he had before designated. " Then shall the 
kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins." 
When did the Saviour say the kingdom of heaven 



256 BALLOu's LECTURES, 

should be likened unto ten virgins ? Answer, at the 
time when those judgments should come on Jerusalem 
and on the Jews, of which he had spoken ; all of 
which he confined to that generation. When he 
should come in the clouds of heaven, with power and 
great glory, and send his angels forth to gather to- 
gether his elect ; all which he confined to that gene- 
ration. 

This parable of the virgins was designed to repre- 
sent the difference there would be between the situa- 
tions of those Jews who foolishly rejected the Saviour, 
and who abused his Apostles, and those who believed 
in him, and administered to the necessities of the pro- 
mulgators of his doctrine. 

The parable of the talents, which follows this of the 
ten virgins, represents the same thing, and so does this 
of the sheep and the goats. 

This passage begins thus : " When the Son of man 
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with 
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory ; 
and before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he 
shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd 
divideth his sheep from the goats," <fec. 

Here be cautious, " When the Son of man shall 
come," &c. When was this ? Look back to the 30th 
verse of the 24th chapter. " And they shall see the 
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory," ozc. And then observe that the 
Saviour took all possible pains to certify his disciples 
that all these things should take place in that genera- 
tion. 

The whole subject is perfectly plain. In the 24th 
chapter Jesus spake of his coming in his glory with his 
angels, and also of the judgment that he would then 
execute on his enemies : and here in the 25th chap- 
ter, he represents these things and events by the para- 
ble of the virgins, that of the talents, and this of the 
sheep and goats ; and by keeping the connexion of the 
subject it appears evident beyond all doubt, that this 
parable ajluded to the events which took place in the 
generation in which he lived. 



257 

But if this subject had been left in any respect 
doubtful, respecting the time of this judgment, yet 
other passages of our Saviour's testimony respecting 
the same event are perfectly sufficient to settle the 
question and to remove all doubts. 

See Matt. xvi. 27, 28, "For the Son of man shall 
come in the glory of his Father, with his angels ; and 
then he shall reward every man according to his works. 
Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here 
which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of 
man coming in his kingdom ." Mark viii. 38. ix. 1. 
"Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and 
of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, 
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he 
cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels. 
And Vie said unto thern, verily I say unto you, that 
there be some of them that stand here, which shall 
not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of 
God come with power." Luke ix. 26, 27, " For who- 
soever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of 
him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall 
come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the 
holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some 
standing here, which shall not taste of death till they 
see the kingdom of God." 

These passages fully and clearly show, that the com- 
ing of Christ in his glory with his angels, to reward 
every man according to his works, was an event which 
took place in the generation that lived at the time that 
Jesus was on the earth. And we have another direct 
proof of this fact recorded in Matt. x. 22, 23, " And 
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake ; but 
he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when 
they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another : 
for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over 
the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come." 

The time of this judgment being thus settled, let 
us inquire what accusation was brought against those 
on the left hand for which they were sentenced to 
everlasting punishment ? The accusation runs thus : 
"I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I 



258 BALLOU 5 S LECTURES. 

was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink : I was a stran 
ger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed 
me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not." 
The accused ask when these things took place ; and 
are told ; "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the 
least of these, ye did it not unto me." Notice here, 
that Jesus was delivering this whole discourse to his 
disciples alone, on the mount of Olives. By these, 
therefore, it is evident that he meant his disciples ; and 
he gave them to understand, that the persecutions 
that they should suffer, he would reckon as done to 
himself. And on the other hand, the righteous are 
justified for having done those things to the disciples 
of Christ, which the wicked had neglected to do ; and 
he accepts these acts of kindness as done to himself. 

We will here ask those, who apply this subject to 
the future state, whether they will allow that we are 
to obtain an immortal state of endless felicity for the 
performance of our duty, in administering to the wants 
of our fellow creatures ? The fact is, after they have 
made such an application of this scripture, they do 
not believe that our immortal state of happiness is the 
reward of our good works here. 

But we must attend to the argument of our oppos- 
ers, who contend, that the words of this text necessa- 
rily mean an endless duration. 

Everlasting punishment, and life eternal. They are 
critical to observe, that the words everlasting and eter- 
nal come from the same word in the Greek Testament, 
and they, therefore, infer that the duration of punish- 
ment must be as long as the duration of happiness in 
the future world. But they assume the application of 
these words to a future state, without even an attempt 
to show, that such an application is justified by the 
testimony of the Saviour. This application we have 
proved to be erroneous ; which necessarily applies the 
word rendered everlasting and eternal to what belongs 
to the present state. And that this application is 
correct we prove as follows : The word in Greek, ren- 
dered everlasting and eternal in our language, is 
aioonion, which is an adjective. The noun occurs in 



259 

the question which the disciples asked the divine mas- 
ter, in the 3d verse of the 24th chapter : " Tell us, 
when shall these things be? and what shall be the 
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the (aioonos) 
world ? " Now we have proved that the end of the 
aioonos, in the 24th chapter meant the end of the Jew- 
ish dispensation. It follows therefore, by fair analo- 
gy, that if the aioonos, which came to an end in the 
generation that Jesus lived on the earth, meant a dis- 
pensation or order of things, that which followed 
meant the same (viz.) a dispensation or order of 
things. 

The plain simple truth is this; The dispensation 
and order of the Jewish economy ended, and the gos- 
pel dispensation and economy commenced ; and so 
did the dispensation of that long and severe judgment 
on the house of Israel, under which they have groan- 
ed until this day. 

We therefore render the text thus ; " These shall go 
away into a dispensation of punishment, but the right- 
eous into a dispensation of life, or into the gospel dis- 
pensation. This gospel dispensation or aioonos, is 
mentioned by the Saviour, in Matt, xxviii. 20, u Where 
Jesus sent forth his disciples to preach, and said to 
them ; Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of 
the (aioonos) world." 

The hearer is referred to Parkhurst's Greek Lex- 
icon, where on this word he will find the following ; 
" An age, period, periodical dispensation of divine 
Providence. In Matt. xxiv. 3, it evidently refers to 
the Jewish age, or age under the Mosaic law. (See 
Whitby, Dodridge, and Macknight on that text.) But 
in Matt, xxviii. 20, it seems plainly to denote the age 
under the Messiah." 

When this subject is seen in its own clear light, 
when we look at it with the eye of unprejudiced can- 
dor, and view it in its relation to the threatenings de- 
nounced by Moses on the rebellious house of Israel, 
we see that Jesus denounced on the Jews no other 
punishment than such as Moses and the Prophets had 
foretold. If the hearer will examine the 26th chapter 



260 

of Leviticus, the 28th of Deuteronomy, the 4th of Lam- 
entations, and compare them with the 24th and 25th 
of Matthew, he will be satisfied that neither Moses, the 
Prophets, nor Jesus spake any thing of punishing the 
house of Israel in a- future state of existence ; but he will 
be convinced that not only Moses and the Prophets, 
but Jesus likewise did denounce the most awful and 
distressing calamities on the Jews, that we can possi- 
bly conceive of human sufferings in this world of mise- 
ry and woe. 

When Pilate, being convinced of the innocence of 
Jesus, would have released him, all the people answer- 
ed, saying, " His blood be on us and on our children." 
They pronounced the dreadful imprecation and were 
taken at their word. God has visited the iniquity of 
the fathers upon the children of them who have hated 
him, and has executed on the wicked the judgments 
which were foretold by the prophets. 

But all this seems nothing in the eye' of that blind 
superstition, which can see no punishment for sin in 
this world, and which applies the threatenings to a fu- 
ture state. But in the judgment of reason, and in the 
light of divine revelation, the punishments which have 
been inflicted on the Jews for the wickedness with 
which scripture and history charge them, have been ac- 
cording to their sins. 

As to the argument, that punishment must be as 
durable as happiness, it not only seems to be destitute 
of any evidence, but repugnant to reason. Punish- 
ment is designed to reclaim from sin, that happiness 
may succeed; but if punishment be endless it certain- 
ly is the end of divine Providence, and not the means 
by which he brings a more glorious end to pass. 

To conclude : my friends, the dealings of God with 
his children in past ages, should be regarded by us 
as examples of his faithfulness to his promises and his 
threatenings. As our heavenly Father has always re- 
warded the righteous, and punished the wicked in a 
way to make his approbation of the former and his 
disaprobation of the latter evident to every observing 
mind, let us be wise for ourselves and for our children. 



LECTURES. 261 

If we approve the opportunity which God has offered 
us, to throw off error and superstition, and to receive 
Christ and his pure religion, we shall enter into life; 
and our children after us, in room of inheriting from 
us, error and darkness, will bless their fathers and their 
mothers, who resolved to throw off the doctrine of 
despair, and to espouse the hope of the gospel of God 
our Saviour. 



LECTURE XIX. 



RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WICKEDNESS RECOMPENSED ON 
EARTH. 

PROVERBS xi. 31. 

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the 
wicked and the sinner. 

Among the reasons for calling your attention at this 
time, to the consideration of this subject, the following 
may be named : 

1. This passage having been made the subject of 
one of our discourses on the 1st Sabbath of November 
last, a number, who heard the discourse at that time, 
have since requested that it might have a place among 
the lectures. And 

2. This subject seems so nearly allied to our last, 
that it is thought advisable to place it next in course, 
that it may operate in some measure as a farther illus- 
tration of it. 

Our text gives evident support to the following par- 
ticular subjects : 

1. There is righteousness in the earth. 

2. There is wickedness in the earth. 

3. There is a sure recompense for righteousness. 

4. There is a sure recompense for wickedness. 

5. The recompense of righteousness is in the earth. 

6. The recompense of wickedness is in the earth. 
These particulars may be said to be fully proved by 

the text ; for there can be none righteous, unless there 
be righteousness, and there can be none wicked, unless 
there be wickedness ; nor can righteousness be recom- 
pensed when there is none, nor can wickedness be 
recompensed where it does not exist. 



263 

The hearer's attention is now invited to an inquiry, 
which will be directed to ascertain how to make a 
proper distinction between the righteous and the wick- 
ed. The way in which this subject is generally held, 
supposes that there is one class of men who are exclu- 
sively righteous, and another class exclusively wicked. 
Hence we hear so much about two classes of mankind. 
Christian preachers and commentators have filled their 
sermons and their volumes with lengthy and intricate 
descriptions of these two classes of people. If we say 
any thing of the divine favor to all mankind, if we ex- 
press the least hope that God will have compassion on 
all men, if we bring plain scripture to testify and say, 
" The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are 
over all his works," we are severely rebuked by those 
who call themselves righteous, who tell us that the 
scriptures every where make two classes of people, the 
righteous and the wicked. 

That the scriptures speak of two characters is freelv 
acknowledged ; but that they every where or even any 
where give support to the notion that one class of 
mankind is exclusively righteous, and another class ex- 
clusively wicked is by.no means acknowledged. 

It is worthy of special notice that the testimony of 
scripture agrees with matter of fact. For instance, 
scripture says : " While the earth remaineth, seed time 
and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and win- 
ter, and day and night, shall not cease." Now the 
matter of fact testified by the passage quoted, perfect- 
ly agrees with what we know by experience to be 
true. But should we find that the scriptures any 
where say, that while the earth remaineth there shall 
be a certain class of people, from generation to genera- 
tion that shall be exclusively righteous, and another 
class exclusively wicked, could we say that this is evi- 
dently true ? could we say that these two classes have 
always been as distinguishable as seed time and har- 
vest, as cold and heat, as summer and winter, and 
as day and night ? 

My friends look round you : do you know who these 
righteous are ? Can you distinguish this righteous class 



264 BALLOU J S LECTURES. 

from the wicked class as easily as you can distinguish 
day from night? Who are they? Are they that com- 
pany of meek, humble believers in Jesus, who pray as 
the divine Master taught them ; " Our Father who 
art in heaven — forgive us our sins ? " If they are 
not sinners why do they pray that their sins may be 
forgiven ? 

On the other hand, who are the wicked ? Are they 
that company of profane sailors, who appear so care- 
less about religion ? But these men, of all grades of 
society, are acknowledged to be the most generous. 
They will impart to misery the last dollar of the scanty 
wages for which they have risked their lives on the 
uncertain deep, while the wealthy Christian, who goes 
to the sanctuary in splendor, with great circumspec- 
tion, gives to poverty a shilling. But who are the 
wicked ? Are they such as make no profession of 
religion, have subscribed to no creed, joined no church? 
But where are these men, and what are they about 
when their neighbors are sick, or are in want, or are 
in distress ? Are they then carelessly loitering behind 
our high professors of religion, who are administering 
all needed assistance to the distressed ? Where are 
they when the devouring element turns women and 
children into the streets ? Do they idly fold their 
arms and look on, while the righteous put out the fire? 
What do these wicked people do when their country 
is invaded by a plundering foe, and all that is dear to 
man lies at stake ? Do they then sleep on beds of 
down, while the saints watch in the camp ? The fact 
is, if we are willing to acknowledge the truth, there is 
no class of people who are so righteous that there is no 
need of reformation ; nor is there a class that is in no 
danger of growing worse. 

We find the righteous and the wicked in the same 
individual. David says ; "Judge me, O Lord, accord- 
ing to my righteousness." And again he says ; "The 
Lord rewardeth me according to my righteousness. ,, 
But with what humility does he acknowledge his sin. 
He says; " Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, 
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 265 

transgression and my sin is ever before me." Yes, in 
the same man, and at the same time we find the 
righteous and the wicked, " him that serveth God and 
him that serveth him not." St. Paul says ; " With the 
mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh 
the law of sin." 

The habit which professed Christians have so long 
indulged, of thinking and speaking of the wicked, as 
a class of people distinct from themselves is a proof of 
the depravity of their own deceived hearts. The pub- 
lican, who dared not raise his eyes toward heaven, but 
smote his breast, saying. God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner, was rather justified than the Pharisee, who thank- 
ed God that he was not like other men. 

The result of a candid examination of this particu- 
lar subject may be represented by health and sickness. 
And as this representation is warranted by the declar- 
ation of the Saviour to those who thought they were 
righteous when they were not, it may be the more ac- 
ceptable. Jesus said, " They that are whole need 
not the physician, but they that are sick." Now 
health and sickness are so directly opposite, that there 
is no difficulty in distinguishing one from the other. 
But there are many cases where it would be difficult 
to determine which of two that are sick is the most 
unwell. And we may further observe, that there is 
no such thing as a class of people who are exclusively 
healthy, nor a class that is exclusively sickly. Those, 
who to-day are in health, may be sick to-morrow ; and 
those who are indisposed to-day may be restored and 
enjoy health to-morrow. Yes, and in the same per- 
son, and at the same time, we may find a degree of 
health and a degree of sickness. Degrees of health 
and sickness may increase or decrease, and the sub- 
jects may either recover, or decline and die. 

Let us in the next place endeavor to ascertain the 
nature of the recompense which the divine economy 
awards to the righteous, and what it is designed for. 

As we have seen that there are different degrees in 
righteousness, so we may expect to find that rewards 
are so varied as to correspond with these different 
23 



266 

degrees. Again, we may observe that in some things 
a man may do that which is right, and receive a recom- 
pense accordingly ; on the other hand, the same man 
may do that which is wrong in some things and be 
recompensed accordingly. 

The whole duty of man is embraced in two divine 
requirements. The first requires us to love God with 
all the heart, and the second, being like unto the first, 
requires us to love our neighbors as ourselves. On 
these two commandments, Jesus says, " hang air the 
law and the prophets." Now as far as any person loves 
God so far is he recompensed, and no farther. And 
as far as he loves his neighbor so far he is recompensed 
in that respect, and no farther. 

But what is the recompense which the soul enjoys 
who loves God ? Answer, it is God himself. " God 
is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, 
and God in him." In an exact proportion to the love 
which the heart exercises towards God is it recom- 
pensed with this richest of all rewards. There is no 
other object, on which the affections of the heart can 
be placed, that is so sure of returning a recompense, 
in all respects equal to the degree of love which is 
exercised. 

Companions may love each other most tenderly, but 
by unavoidable circumstances they may be separated, 
so as to render their affection even painful. Again, 
there may be love to creature objects where no return 
of affection is received. But whoever loves God can- 
not be separated from him, nor can he ever experience 
any want of love in God. The soul that truly loves 
the divine Being is blessed with the presence of the 
object of affection. There is no place nor condition 
that can exclude the mind from this enjoyment. 
Though we were banished from the society of man, 
if we loved God he would be present with us ; would 
be a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 
How often do we see our brethren and sisters in the 
hour of death, rejoicing in a present Saviour, and 
cheerfully resign life and all earthly things for the 
enjoyment of God. 






BALLOU'S LECTURES. 267 

What is this rich recompense designed for in the 
divine economy ? It is designed for the only end that 
divine love can possibly have in view. It is to pro- 
mote love and enlarge its enjoyments in the soul that 
is exercised by it. 

As there are secondary cases in which righteousness 
manifests itself, so there are secondary recompenses 
corresponding with them. As consequences growing 
out of love to God, we notice those virtuous actions, 
and propriety of conduct, which are attended with 
effects which sufficiently recompense and amply bless 
the agent in his deeds. Whoever loves God, will love 
truth ; he will love honesty ; he will love justice ; he 
will love mercy ; he will love wisdom and knowledge. 
Now as he loves these things, he will speak the truth; 
he will be honest ; he will do justly ; he will be mer- 
ciful ; he will endeavor to acquire wisdom and know- 
ledge, and he will consider all these things as durable 
riches and righteousness. 

Now as these virtues are all calculated to reward us 
for all our exertions in their principles, so it is evident 
that our recompenses must be according to our merits. 
Accordingly as a man loves the truth, and speaks the 
truth, he enjoys the divine sunshine in his breast ; and 
in addition to this sure and ample reward, he generally 
is believed by others, and confidence is placed in his 
word. In the same proportion as a man is honest in 
what he does, he has the enjoyment of his own con- 
science, which is a treasure that the honest man prizes 
far above silver or gold. And in addition to all this 
he has the satisfaction of being esteemed by others for 
his honesty, which is worthy of high estimation. 

Those who do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly 
with God, who seek for wisdom as for hidden treasures, 
and find out knowledge of witty inventions, enjoy a 
constant income of moral and intellectual wealth, 
which is far richer than the revenue of silver, or the 
merchandise of the most precious spices. 

The design of these rich rewards, in the economy 
of the divine government, is to induce moral beings 
to labor with all possible diligence to perfect them- 
selves in the love of God. 



BALLOU S LECTURES. 

We may now ask what recompense the divine 
government is pleased to render to the wicked, and 
what is the design of such a recompense. 

As wickedness is exactly the reverse of righteous- 
ness, so the recompense of the former must be the 
reverse of that of the latter. 

If we have no love to God we cannot enjoy him. 
The thought that he exists and exercises universal 
dominion, and controls all things by his almighty 
power is a source of infelicity. The soul, in room of 
being refreshed with the sweet waters of life, is suf 
fused with anger, wrath, strife, and bitterness. In the 
room of peace, there is trouble. " The wicked are 
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose 
waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, 
saith my God, to the wicked." 

Such is the establishment of moral rectitude in the 
human soul, by the hand of our Malter, that our rea- 
son is compelled to acknowledge the dignity of divine 
justice, the purity of all the virtues, and the excellency 
of righteousness. But where the affections of the heart 
are not devoted to these holy qualities, the soul is for- 
ever under condemnation. Self-accusation and self- 
reproach gnaw like the vulture within. 

In an exact proportion to the distance the soul is in, 
from that love to God and our neighbor, which is the 
fulness of the divine requirement, is measured the 
recompense due to the sinner. There is tribulation 
and anguish to every soul of man that doeth evil ; and 
this tribulation and anguish are in proportion to the 
evil for which they are a recompense. 

But why should the divine government so ordain, 
that sin should be recompensed with so much misery ? 
Why does it not please God to administer comfort, 
peace, and joy, to the sinner, in his sins ? What is 
the design of the divine economy in this thing? 

We may find a solution of these queries in our si- 
militude of health and sickness. Health is the reward 
of that kind of food, which is nourishment to the body, 
of that temperance and exercise which our nature 
requires ; while food that is unwholesome, or that is 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 269 

rendered injurious by art, together with intemperance, 
and the want of proper exercise, are recompensed with 
those natural disorders with which the human body is 
afflicted. It is necessarily so in the nature of things. 
It seems impossible that it should be otherwise. And 
it is the certainty of these consequences, which induces 
the prudent to abstain from intemperance and idleness. 

The evil consequences resulting from wrong practi- 
ces are designed, by divine wisdom, for the same be- 
nevolent purpose as the good effects which are the 
recompense of doing well. When we do well we en- 
joy the pleasant fruits of righteousness, and this enjoy- 
ment operates as an inducement to continue in well 
doing. On the contrary, when we do wrong we suffer 
the recompense of our error, and this suffering is 
wisely appointed as a mean to wean us from that im- 
proper indulgence of inordinate appetites ajid passions 
in consequence of which we suffer, and to warn us to 
take heed to our ways. The prophet Jeremiah, speak- 
ing to the wicked, seems to express this idea with great 
plainness. He says ; " Thine own wickedness shall 
correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee." 

In our reasoning on the subjects of the recompens- 
ing of the righteous, and of rendering to the wicked 
according to their works, attention has been paid more 
to what we may term the internal fruits of righteous- 
ness and sin, than to outward blessings and calamities 
with which divine Providence has in all ages of the 
world expressed his approbation of righteousness, and 
his disapprobation of sin. We shall now contemplate 
the subject more generally, noticing some of the divine 
promises and threatenings, connecting the subject with 
the consideration of that part of the testimony of our 
text which informs us, that the recompense of both the 
righteous and the wicked is in the earth. 

It may be proper, before we proceed further, to ap- 
prise the hearer, that the arguments which are to fol- 
low will be found directed to disprove the common 
doctrine, which teaches that those who are righteous 
in this state of existence, will be recompensed for their 
righteousness with immortality and eternal life in the 
23* 



270 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

future state; and that those who are sinners in this 
life will be recompensed with endless perdition hereaf- 
ter. This we feel fully authorised to undertake by 
the divine authority expressed in many more passages 
than can be cited in one sermon ; this authority is 
evidently expressed in our text, in that it certifies us 
that both the righteous and the wicked shall be re- 
compensed in the earth ; for it surely seems unreason- 
able to suppose, that they are recompensed here in the 
earth, and after this recompensed to all eternity. In 
fact this idea is a most palpable absurdity ; for any 
thing short of deserts is not a recompense ; nor can 
that which is more than deserts be called a recompense. 

With a view to bring this general subject before the 
hearer in as plain a manner as is convenient, let a few 
questions be asked, and let reason and experience an- 
swer them.. 

1. In a state like this, in which we are possessed of 
inclinations, passions, and appetites, which, if not 
properly chastened, duly restrained, and wisely gov- 
erned, will most assuredly lead us into sin, in order to 
influence the mind, and bring its fortitude into proper 
action, and the inclinations into the right channel by 
the hope of a favorable recompense, it is best to place 
this recompense in this present life, or in a future 
state? Professors of religion in general, and even 
preachers contend, that unless the recompense for well 
doing is in a future state, virtue is not worth pursuing, 
as there is not in virtue itself and in its good conse- 
quences in this life a sufficient reward for its duties. 
The question now before us inquires whether it would 
not better secure the object to have the recompense in 
this life ? In favor of its being here may be urged, 
that all objects that are calculated to influence the hu- 
man mind, have their powers increased by their prox- 
imity to us, and diminished as they are placed more 
remote. Man is so constituted that he thinks more of 
his present necessities than he does of what he may 
want in some future time. 

If you wish to hire laborers into your service, you 
can more readily obtain them by promising them their 



271 

pay every setting sun, than if you propose paying 
them ten or twenty years hence. If your neighbor, 
or even your minister should tell you, that if you wish 
to obtain faithful laborers, you must by no means 
promise them immediate pay, but promise it as long 
hence as will possibly suit your conveniences ; and 
furthermore, you must be careful when they are labor- 
ing for you, to allow them as little refreshment and 
rest as possibly will keep them alive, or they will leave 
you, would you think the advice was any evidence of 
the wisdom and experience of him who gave it ? No, 
you would not. And though you might possibly think 
your adviser meant well, being ignorant, you would 
not follow the advice. 

Why then, my friends, should we believe, that di- 
vine wisdom, with an intention to engage us in the 
service of virtue, should place its reward in a future 
state of existence, in a world we know nothing of, from 
which no traveller ever returned ? — Why should we 
believe, that the wisdom of God, with a design to 
make us faithful in his service, should carefully make 
this service extremely toilsome, and allow us no rest 
nor refreshment that is comfortable during our labors ? 

2. With a view to operate on the mind by fear, and 
to restrain the passions by apprehensions of danger, 
where would wisdom place the dreaded object ? in this 
life, or in a future state ? 

In favor of its being here, and before our eyes, may 
be urged, that any terrific object has a greater influ- 
ence on the mind being near and visible, than when 
remote and invisible. Even a coward will boast of his 
courage, and will dare the foe, while he lies at a dis- 
tance and out of sight, but when the hostile band pie- 
sen ts the glittering armory that dazzles his eyes, his 
weak heart melts like wax before the sun. Why then 
should terror be placed at a distance and out of sight 
in order to have the greatest effect on the mind? If it 
be necessary to excite our fear, that we believe in the 
common doctrine of a burning lake in a future state, 
would it not add an incalculable influence to the ob- 
ject if our terrific preachers could draw away the cur- 



272 

tain and present the horrible scene to our open vision? 
As they take great satisfaction in describing to the im- 
agination of parents their children in hell, would not 
the effect be still more powerful if the eye could be- 
hold the fiery pit, and see the beloved children in the 
flames ? But all this must be carried on in a secret 
place, out of sight of all the living ; and none to re- 
port it to us, only those who know nothing about it. 

3. Is it not a most evident fact, that for temporal 
enjoyments, enjoyments of this life, men will exert 
their utmost powers, face the greatest dangers, and 
surmount all surmountable difficulties ? For these en- 
joyments the husbandman labors from early morn until 
the shades of night cover him. And this he repeats 
day after day, week after week, month after month, 
year after year, until he wears out his strength and his 
days. Ask him why he thus toils; will he inform you, 
either that he expects an immortal state of bliss hereaf- 
ter as a reward ; or that he fears eternal torments if he 
should quit his field ? No, he will point to his wife 
and to his children, and say ; it is for them I labor, 
for them I toil, and the love I bear them makes my la- 
bor easy and my burden light ; yea it is a pleasure, and 
content is my companion. 

Does not the mariner risk his life on the seas, does 
he not encounter the most inclement weather, put his 
face to the violence of the storm, for the sake of the 
comforts and luxuries of life ? For the enjoyments of 
this temporal state, we see the warrior, far from his 
family, encountering the fatigues of marches and coun- 
ter-marches ; lying upon the cold damp earth ; his 
food coarse and often loathsome, and when the hour 
of perilous danger arrives, and he is summoned to the 
charge, does he now expect immortality and eternal 
life if he fights, and does he dread endless damnation 
if he refuses? No, these are not the motives which 
stimulate him to set his face to danger and his breast 
to the battle. The defence of his country, the defence 
of his wife and children, and his honor as a soldier 
are motives sufficient. Why then, my friends, are we 
told that no rewards in this life are sufficient to excite 



; 



273 

us to religion and virtue ? Why are we told the pitiful 
story, that nothing short of the hope of endless hap- 
piness hereafter, and the dread of everlasting damna- 
tion in the world to come, are sufficient incentives to 
move men to subscribe to a creed which men have 
invented, and a covenant written by a clergyman, join 
a communion, and make a few prayers which he learns 
by heart, and go to meeting on the Sabbath? 

4. Since the doctrine of endless rewards and pun- 
ishments has been advocated and preached by the 
christian clergy, and the anathemas of eternal con- 
demnation held up on every Sabbath-day ; and since 
all classes of people have been habituated in such a 
belief, has it all together had the desired effect? Has 
it made men in reality any better ? If we place the 
least confidence in the most authentic histories, and if 
we allow experience to judge in this case the matter is 
plain, that a spirit of the most violent persecution has 
always accompanied this doctrine, and the most shock- 
ing outrages on humanity have marked its progress. 

5. Let us ask now, where true wisdom lies, and 
where her peaceful path is to be found ? We find the 
answer in the words of Jesus, who said ; " Come unto 
me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of 
me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall 
)(ind rest unto your soul. For my yoke is easy and my 
burden is light." By these precious words we learn 
that the Saviour endeavored to persuade men into his 
service by assuring them that his service was easy, and 
that he imposed no burdens but light ones. He com- 
pares his religion with its opposite, as an easy service 
to one that is hard ; as rest to fatigue. 

As long as we are persuaded to believe that the way 
of righteousness is a hard way, that it is attended with 
constant trouble, that few or no enjoyments are found 
in obedience to its requirements, all the promises 
which the preacher holds up of bliss in a future world, 
will never induce us to travel the hated road. On the 
contrary, as long as we are told that sin and wicked- 
ness are attended with ease, pleasure, delight, and 



274 

perpetual gratification and satisfaction, and as long as 
we believe this worst of all deceptions, so long we 
shall live in sin, notwithstanding we may be told of the 
most horrid torments in a future world as a recom- 
pense therefor. 

Man loves happiness and hates misery, and this 
love and hatred are the only inducements which move 
him to action. Let us realize then that righteousness 
will make us happy in the present life, and that sin 
will make us miserable here on the earth, and let us 
constantly withstand the testimony of our preachers, 
and the temptations of the flesh to the contrary, and 
we shall live as the grace of God teaches, by denying 
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and by living soberly, 
righteously, and godly in this present world. 

It is worthy of special regard, that the divine prom- 
ises and threatenings recorded by Moses and the 
prophets, with which God was pleased to signify his 
approbation of righteousness, and his disapprobation 
of sin, relate to blessings and punishments which have 
been enjoyed and suffered by the house of Israel in 
the earth. 

For their encouragement the Lord promised them 
all manner of temporal blessings ; and as a terror he 
threatened them with all manner of temporal calami- 
ties. And while they walked in the statutes of the 
Lord, and did his judgments these promises were faith- 
fully fulfilled. The people multiplied greatly and 
abounded in all the rich blessings of life, of health and 
peace. But when they rebelled and walked in the 
Avay of sin, they were visited with all the plagues, 
judgments, and calamities with which they had been 
threatened. No people ever varied their character 
more than have the Jews. At times they were the 
most upright, the most pious, the most virtuous of all 
the nations of the earth ; and then they were blessed 
above all people in the world. At other times they 
have been the most perverse ; have so forsaken the 
true God, as to carry idolatry to its extremes, have 
practiced violence and oppression, by which they be- 
came a prey to their enemies, and were carried into 



275 

captivities, and punished with all the sore judgments 
which were written in their law or denounced by their 
prophets. And as no people have ever been more 
wicked, so none have been more punished than they. 

The judgments which our Saviour denounced on 
aie Jews were the same of which we read in the 26th 
of Leviticus and other writings of Moses, in the Lam- 
entations of Jeremiah and the other writings of this 
and the rest of the prophets. And it is directly to our 
argument to observe that all these calamities have come 
on that people ; and that we have no more authority 
for applying either the promises for obedience, or the 
threatenings for disobedience to a future state, than 
we have for believing that the Jews, for their obedience 
in this world, will be blessed in the future state in the 
quiet possession of the land of Canaan : and for their 
disobedience will be visited with sickness and be car- 
ried away into captivity by their enemies. 

To conclude. Let us, my friends, open our eyes on 
the certain consequences with which our heavenly 
Father rewards the obedient here in the earth. Let 
us regard that calm sunshine of peace within, which 
we are sure to enjoy as the reward of well doing. Let 
us endeavor to estimate in a proper manner the rich 
inheritance which is the certain lot of those who keep 
the commandments of God. 

J^et us look round us, and see if prisons, dungeons, 
and gallows are not a sufficient argument to prove, 
that the wicked are recompensed in the earth. And 
if this sad scene be not sufficient, go draw the veil 
from still greater horrors, where intemperance and un- 
cleanness exhibit the warning spectacle of degraded 
humanity. Beloved youth, look, these terrors are no 
fictions ; they are awful realities ! Your feet stand 
in slippery places ! O put on the whole armor of 
righteousness that ye may be able to stand in the evil 
day ; and pray most fervently that you may not be led 
into temptation, but that you may be delivered from 
evil. 



LECTURE XX. 

DIVINE GOODNESS IN THE DESTRUCTION OF IHE 
SODOMITES AND OTHER SINNERS. 

EZEKIEL xvi. last of 50. 

Therefore I took them away as 1 saw good. 

The spirit of divine truth, addressing Jerusalem by 
the prophet, informed her that she was more corrupted 
in her ways than her sisters, Samaria and her daugh- 
ters, or Sodom and her daughters. The words of the 
prophet are these; " As I live, saith the Lord God, 
Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daugh- 
ters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Be- 
hold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, 
fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness, was in her 
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the 
hands of the poor and needy. And they were haugh- 
ty, and committed abomination before me ; therefore I 
took them away as I saw good." 

The destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom is the 
subject of our text, and that to which the most cau- 
tious attention of this christian audience is now most 
earnestly solicited. 

By those who believe and preach the " heart-chilling 
doctrine" of endless torment, the destruction of 
Sodom is constantly adverted to as an evident proof 
of this tenet, and an instance of its positive reality. 

Now as it is one of the objects of this course of lec- 
tures, to disprove the doctrine here mentioned, and to 
show, that the divine testimony which its advocates ap- 
ply as proof of this tenet gives it no support, it is 
thought expedient to show that we have no evidence 
to believe that the Sodomites are an instance of an 



277 

endless state of misery. And as several other instan- 
ces of the destruction of the wicked are generally used 
for the same end as this of the destruction of Sodom, 
notice will be taken of a number of them in the pres- 
ent discourse, in a way to show that they afford no 
evidence in support of the doctrine, in favor of which 
they are perpetually employed by our terrific preach- 
ers. 

The first question which we shall attempt to exam- 
ine is, whether the scriptures, which speak of the de- 
struction of Sodom, give any account of the endless 
misery of those people who died in that destruction ? 

We are informed in the 18th and 19th chapters of 
Genesis, that, on account of the grievous sin of Sodom 
and Gomorrah, " the Lord rained upon Sodom and 
upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out 
of heaven. And he overthrew those cities and all the 
plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that 
which grew upon the ground." 

This is the account which we have in Genesis of the 
destruction of the Sodomites. But we find no men- 
tion made of their being consigned to a state of torment 
after their temporal destruction. 

Here let us bring our subject into the light by the 
following queries. 

1. Of the two events, the temporal destruction of 
the Sodomites and their being consigned to a state of 
unspeakable torment in the invisible and eternal world, 
which is the greatest ? Every one will acknowledge 
at once, that the last mentioned of these events is in- 
finitely greater than the first. Indeed, those who be- 
lieve and hold forth the idea of the endless misery of 
the wicked hereafter, always inform us, that all the 
sufferings of this mortal state are nothing compared 
with the sufferings of the miserable in the eternal 
world. 

2. Why, allowing the common opinion of the mise- 
rable state of the Sodomites in the invisible world, is 
there a particular account given of their temporal de- 
struction, and yet not a word about this everlasting 
torment in the future state, which is a subject infinite- 

24 



278 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ly greater ? To illustrate the nature of this question, 
we will suppose, that we have an account in our news- 
papers of a fire in the city of Philadelphia that burnt 
several ware-houses and consumed considerable prop- 
erty. This account falls into the hands of our chris- 
tian preachers, and they come forward in public and 
state a most lamentable account of the total destruc- 
tion of the city of Philadelphia by fire. They set 
forth, in the most moving language the awful sufferings 
of the wretched inhabitants of that city, not one of 
which were able to make their escape from the de- 
vouring flames ! They even go so far as to inform us 
of certain manifestations of the tender sympathies of 
husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers 
and sisters in the last sad moments of their dreadful 
destruction. After the peace of the whole town should 
be thus trifled with for some time, and all our hearts 
had been wrung with the keenest sorrow for the as- 
tonishing sufferings of our fellow mortals, some of us 
should ask our preachers how they were informed of 
the sorrowful news of the destruction of the inhabitants 
of Philadelphia? — They in a very careless indifferent 
manner, after a few civilities, inform us that we have 
had the account in the public papers ; and ask us if 
we have not seen the account of the burning of those 
ware-houses and all the goods there were in them ? — 
What should we think in such a case ? Should we 
not allow ourselves to query whether these good teach- 
ers had not made some mistake ? or exaggerated in a 
most unwarranted degree the account given in the pa- 
pers ? You will all agree that no excuse could possi- 
bly palliate for such a breach of our peace, except it 
<iould be proved that our teachers, who had thus trou- 
bled our souls, were actuated by a delirium. But my 
friends, even this comparison falls infinitely short of 
the subject under consideration. There is not so 
great a disproportion between the supposed account 
of the fire in Philadelphia, and the exaggeration of this 
account, which we have supposed, as there is betw r een 
the account recorded in Genesis of the destruction of 
the Sodomites, and the exaggerations by which thou- 



279 

sands have been led to believe that those who were 
there destroyed, were consigned to a state of intermi- 
nable misery. The question before you is like this; 
Would the public prints notice, in a particular man- 
ner, the burning of a few ware-houses in the city of 
Philadelphia, but say nothing of the burning of the 
whole city, inhabitants and all? 

3. As it is acknowledged by all, who reason well on 
the relation between testimony and facts, and the le- 
gitimate powers of the former to establish the latter, 
that extraordinary and naturally incredible events re- 
quire a strength of testimony and a clearness of evi- 
dence which correspond with the extraordinary char- 
acter of what is to be proved, is it not our indispensa- 
ble duty, and what we owe to ourselves and to the 
cause of truth, to ask our divines, who insist on the 
endless misery of the Sodomites, to produce evidence 
of this fact, the force and clearness of which are equal 
to the extraordinary character of this supposed fact ? 

That this supposed fact is naturally incredible ap- 
pears most evident by comparing it with the manifest 
character of the divine Being. God is a being of infi- 
nite wisdom, power, and goodness. 

We may suppose, that if God were infinitely wise, 
and infinitely powerful, but entirely destitute of good- 
ness, he might contrive a scheme of infinite cruelty, 
and carry the same into effect ; but if he possess as 
much goodness as he does wisdom and power, it is 
palpably absurd to believe that he is the author of any 
being to whom he is not good ; and it is equally ab 
surd to say that God is good to the Sodomites if they 
are consigned to a state of infinite misery. 

That our heavenly Father was good and bountiful 
to the inhabitants of Sodom in their mortal state is evi- 
dent from our context, in which we are informed of 
the idleness of the people, their fulness of bread, and 
their criminal neglect of the poor and needy. These 
accusations fully show that they were guilty of abusing 
the goodness of divine Providence ; by which it is 
clear that God was good to them. Now as it cannot 
be denied that our heavenly Father was good and 



280 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

bountiful to the inhabitants of Sodom in their mortal 
state, is it consistent for us to believe that he is not 
good to them in the eternal world, if he there con- 
tinues their existence ? Where is the evidence that 
he, who alone can create, and preserve the existence 
of rational beings, ever does this to the damage of his 
creatures ? 

The plain truth is this ; in room of having such 
clear and positive evidence in support of this common 
notion of the endless misery of the inhabitants of 
Sodom, as reason would require,' there is not the most 
distant hint of any such thing, in the account recorded 
in Genesis. 

There is a passage in the epistle of Jude, which 
speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah as follows ; " Even 
as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them 
in like manner giving themselves over to fornication, 
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an exam- 
ple, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." This 
passage is frequently cited to prove that the eternal 
state of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is 
miserable. Let us examine the passage and see if it 
afford any such conclusion. The words, "are set 
forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eter- 
nal fire," are supposed to support the opinion in dis- 
pute. In order to show that these words have no such 
meaning, we will notice two passages where St. Paul 
uses the words, " set forth." See Romans iii. 25. 
" Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness 
for the remission of sins that are past, through the 
forbearance of God." 1. Cor. iv. 9. " For I think 
that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it 
were appointed to death : for we are made a spectacle 
unto the world, and to angels, and unto men." In 
both these passages, the words " set forth" evidently 
mean a most open and clear manifestation of that 
which was " set forth." But who will pretend that 
the eternal torments of the Sodomites, in the burning 
lake of the invisible world, are set forth for an exam- 
ple ? 






BALLOU'S LECTURES. 281 

When God " set forth " his dear Son for a propitia- 
tion of our sins, thousands of witnessing eyes beheld 
him and saw his miracles of mercy ; thousands of ears 
heard the gracious words which he spake, and thou- 
sands felt the life giving, and health restoring power of 
the Saviour. His whole process from his birth to his 
ascension was attested by many witnesses, who could 
not have made any material mistake respecting the 
subject of their testimony. But have we the testimony 
of a single individual, who has seen the Sodomites in 
torment since their destruction, or heard their groans? 
It is true, and it is spoken with regret, that our ter- 
rific preachers speak on this subject, with as much 
seeming assurance, and in terms as positive as does 
the historian who relates an account of which he is an 
eye witness. 

The Apostles were " set forth ; " and being " set 
forth," were a spectacle unto the world, and to an- 
gels, and to men ; and Sodom and Gomorrah were 
set forth for an example ; *' but who were the specta- 
tors ? Who were the witnesses ? Have angels and 
men seen them in the torments of the invisible world ? 
No, there is no such thing; but we are informed, by 
the divine historian, that " Abraham gat up early in 
the morning to the place where he stood before the 
Lord. And he looked towards Sodom and Gomor- 
rah, and toward all the land of the plain, and lo, the 
smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a fur- 
nace." There can be no reasonable doubt that the 
destruction of the inhabitants of Sodom and the Cities 
of the plain was, " set forth " before the eyes of all 
the inhabitants of the surrounding country : and there 
can be no doubt but that it was considered by those 
who saw it, as a dispensation of divine Providence 
for the wickedness of the people. And it was record- 
ed in the scriptures for an example, and a warning to 
the inhabitants of the earth not to practice their sins. 

The fire which destroyed Sodom and the cities of 

the plain, is called eternal fire on account of the long 

time it continued in the country, and burned in those 

pits of siime of which we read in the account of the 

24* ' 



282 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

battle between five kings on the part of Sodom and its 
confederates, and the four kings who went against 
them. 

But the fact is we are assured in the most plain terms 
that the punishment of the sin of Sodom is not in a 
future state, but was executed on its inhabitants in a 
most sudden and expeditious manner. See Lam. iv. 6. 
" For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter 
of my people is greater than the punishment of the 
sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, 
and no hand stayed on her." By this testimony we 
learn the following facts, which relate to the argument 
under consideration. 

1 . The punishment of the sin of Sodom, was their 
temporal destruction. 

2. This overthrow, which was the punishment of 
their sins was executed in a very short time. 

3. There was no protracted punishment executed 
on them after this sudden overthrow. This we learn 
from the concluding words of the passage quoted ; " No 
hand stayed on her." And 

4. This punishment of the sin of Sodom was less 
than the punishment of the iniquity of the house of 
Israel. And it is furthermore worthy of observation, 
that if the punishment of the sin of Sodom be endless 
misery, it is a most palpable absurdity to say, that the 
punishment of the iniquity of the house of Israel was 
greater. The punishment which the prophet de- 
scribes, as being greater than the punishment of the 
sin of Sodom, was altogether the calamities of wars, 
famines, and other temporal judgments which came on 
the people for their iniquities. And by the prophet 
Ezekiel, in the place where our text is recorded, we 
have the reason given why the punishment of Jerusa- 
lem ought, in justice, to be greater than the punish- 
ment of the sin of Sodom. 

It is here stated that Jerusalem was more corrupted 
in all her ways, than Sodom. 

Having fully proved, as far as any thing can be proved 
by the divine testimony, that the common opinion 
concerning the punishment of the Sodomites is not 



283 

only without foundation in scripture, but also in direct 
opposition to the plain testimony on the subject, we 
may now notice the words of our text, by way of the 
following inquiry. 

As God says, by the prophet, in our text ; " There- 
fore, I took them away as I saw good," what good 
was there effected by their being taken away in such a 
manner ? The reason why they were taken away, 
was their sins. Now if they remained as great sin- 
ners after they were destroyed, as they were before, 
then the occasion of their being taken away was not 
removed by their destruction. Here then we see, 
what we always may notice in false notions of the 
ways of God. They always represent the divine Being 
as capable of acting without effect, or in a partial 
manner, or to a malevolent purpose. God destroyed 
the Sodomites because they were sinful; yet after 
their destruction they were no less sinful. Thus the 
object failed. After their destruction, as their sin re- 
mained, the Almighty consigned them to burning flames 
eternally, not to reform them, of course, but to vent on 
them his eternal wrath. Thus error represents the 
divine Being, revengeful and cruel. 

A desire is felt, that the hearer would lend an at- 
tention to these questions, viz. Why should our 
heavenly Father manifest any disapprobation of sin ? 
Does he suffer any inconvenience from it ? Does the 
happiness of the sole Governor of the universe depend 
on the conduct of his creatures ? Now as all will agree 
that the Almighty cannot be injured by sin, so it is 
reasonable to conclude that he forbids it because it 
is injurious to man ; and it is reasonable also to con- 
clude that the judgments, by which the divine disap- 
probation of sin is manifested, are designed to lessen 
and not to increase human misery. But will any one 
undertake to prove that human misery is lessened by 
inflicting unspeakable torments on mankind as long as 
God shall exist ? 

Let us, my friends, lay aside all the vain notions of 
tradition and superstition respecting our subject, no- 
tions which suppose that our Father in heaven is act- 



2S4 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ing the part of an implacable enemy to his own ra- 
tional offspring, and let us listen to the language of 
our text ; and let us realize it as the language of a 
kind and merciful Father. " Therefore I took them 
away as I saw good." My friends, how does this lan- 
guage sound to you ? Does it carry any idea of unmer- 
ciful vengeance ? No, it does not. But it gives a clear 
idea that God acted in this instance, consistently with 
his nature which is love, and with his character as a 
Father. He acted for the good of his creatures. 

According to promise, we may now proceed to no- 
tice some other instances of the destruction of the 
wicked, which instances are generally used in support 
of the system of terror to which the destruction of the 
Sodomites is so universally applied. 

The first we propose to examine is the destruction 
of Pharaoh and his host in the red sea. 

There has been and continues to be much dispute 
and opposition of opinion among divines, respecting 
God's raising up Pharaoh and hardening his heart for 
eternal destruction. Some insist that the Almighty, by 
a sovereign act, created Pharaoh for everlasting misery 
in the eternal world, and that he hardened his heart on 
purpose that he might commit sin enough to justify his 
endless condemnation. Others oppose such nolions, 
and charge them with making God the author of sin. 
But they contend that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, 
was the sole author of his own sins and is justly sen- 
tenced to everlasting perdition together with all his 
host for disobedience in refusing to let the children of 
Israel go peaceably out of Egypt. Thus there is one 
darling point, in which, after they have opposed one 
another with all the arguments which they can possibly 
bring to bear on the subject in dispute, and after they 
have reciprocally censured each other for holding dan- 
gerous errors, they meet, and become perfectly quiet 
in the belief, that Pharaoh and his host are in the tor- 
ments of hell, from which there is no deliverance. 

That which these opposing divines dispute about is 
not embraced in the present object, to which this re- 
search is directed, but the point in which they both 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 285 

meet, and concerning which they entertain no doubt, 
is the question now to be settled. 

But how are we to obtain our object ? The tradition 
of the church says, that Pharaoh and his host are in a 
state of endless torment. This tradition is now called 
in question. But how are we to bring this case to a 
fair decision ? The following method is proposed. Let 
those divines, who hold and endeavor to maintain that 
Pharaoh and his host are in a state of endless misery 
pursuant to an eternal decree of God, and those who 
deny that tenet, but maintain that Pharaoh and his host 
are in this state of torment in consequence of abusing 
their moral agency drop their dispute, until they shall 
have proved that Pharaoh and his host are actually in 
such a state. And then let them all agree to believe 
nothing on this subject more than the divine testimony 
proves. 

When this method is agreed to, the whole question 
is settled ; for the fact is, there is no intimation in the 
scripture account that Pharaoh or any of his host were 
sufferers after they were drowned in the red sea. 

It is a most humiliating thought, that our learned 
doctors of the church should so long maintain this 
phantom of their imagination, to the dishonor of God, 
and to the discomfort of every tender sensibility of the 
human heart. 

But the day of trial and retribution is come ; and 
this folly must be recompensed. It is true, they may 
turn away their faces, they may wish to avoid meeting 
these glaring absurdities ; but the spirit of investiga- 
tion, which is now manifesting itself, will never suffer 
this matter to rest, until such barbarity of sentiment is 
totally rescinded. 

The hearer is cautioned against the supposition that 
the preacher takes the least satisfaction in giving those, 
who maintain the errors which he is endeavoring to 
expose, the smallest sensation that may disturb their 
comfort, and against harboring such a reprehensible 
disposition. But he may be assured, that no respect 
due to fellow mortals, can justly prevent us from bring- 
ing their false notions to the light. 



286 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

The next subject, which we propose to notice is that 
of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. We have an account 
in the 16th of Numbers of the destruction of these 
persons, their families, and of all that appertained to 
them, by being swallowed up in the earth. This is an- 
other instance of divine providence, which those who 
believe and preach the doctrine of endless, unmerci- 
ful punishment advert to as a certain proof of its reality. 
But how can the account which we have of the destruc- 
tion of those people prove what it says nothing of nor 
even implies ? If one should say, that Korah, Dathan, 
and Abiram with their families went immediately, after 
they were swallowed up in the earth, to some one of 
the planets, where they have all lived ever since in a 
state of affluence, who could prove to the contrary ? 
There is nothing in the account which we have of those 
people that intimate what became of them after they 
were swallowed up in the earth. 

If we could be satisfied with the account which we 
have of this matter, there is no difficulty in understand- 
ing why these people were swallowed up, and the 
benefit thereby intended to the congregation. 

As these men rose up to oppose Moses and Aaron, 
and to excite the people to rebellion, Moses told the 
congregation ; " Hereby shall ye know that the Lord 
hath sent me to do all these works. If these men die 
the common death of all men, or if they be visited after 
the visitation of all men, then the Lord hath not sent 
me ; but if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth 
open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that 
appertaineth unto them, and they go down quickly into 
the pit, then ye shall understand that those men have 
provoked the Lord." According to these words the 
event took place, and the rebellion was ended. 

The question is now put to the candor of this chris- 
tian audience, what is there in this account that 
authorises the belief that Korah, Dathan, and Abiram 
are now in a state of endless torment ? Moses did not 
intimate to the congregation that these people would 
be tormented after death ; and in fact if he had told 
them so, they could not have been witnesses of th» 






BALLOU'S LECTURES. 287 

truth of his testimony ; nor could any other people 
since have known whether Moses spoke the truth or 
not. We have no account either sacred or profane, 
that gives any information of the situation of this com- 
pany after the earth swallowed them up. If they 
have been in a state of torment ever since, that tor- 
ment has been no terror to the living, because the 
living have known nothing of it. And it is certain, 
that those who advert to the case of Korah and his 
company, as an instance proving the doctrine of a 
future state of miseiy, do this thing on no higher 
authority than human tradition. 

The destruction of the old world by the flood, is 
another event, on which, our preachers of punishment 
in a future state, depend for proof of their terrific doc- 
trine. And such is the habit of thinking, with pious 
and religious people, on this subject, that whenever 
they think of the drowning of the inhabitants of the 
old world, their minds are carried directly to the idea 
of the awful state of suffering which those people 
have been in ever since. They never presume to call 
the matter in question. They never think of asking 
whether there be any proof of this horrible notion. 
They take it altogether on tradition, without taking 
the trouble ever to read the account to see what is 
said respecting it. Yet it is worthy of notice, that 
these very people, thus led away with superstition, 
will wonder, and even laugh at the. absurd supersti- 
tions of other people, in matters of no consequence 
in comparison with this which we have now called in 
question. For instance, what a world of contention 
there has been between Roman Catholics and Protes- 
tants, on the question respecting transubstantiation, 
and what is termed the real presence. Protestants 
will even ridicule the superstition of their opponents 
on this subject ; but after all, have they a thousandth 
part of the evidence to prove that the inhabitants of 
the old world are in a state of endless misery, as the 
Catholics have to prove the real presence ? No, surely 
they have not. When Jesus took bread and brake it, 
he said; "This is my body." Protestants say, thai 



288 

Jesus spake figuratively ; but the Catholics deny this, 
and say, he meant as he said. Now what we ask is 
this, is there in all the account which we have of the 
destruction of the old world, any thing so much in 
favor of the misery of the people after death, as the 
words of Christ are in favor of the catholic sentiment ? 
The fact is, there is nothing said on the subject. There 
is no intimation that the inhabitants who were drown- 
ed by the flood were made miserable at all in a future 
state. Thus Protestants, as well as the old Pharisees, 
" strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.'' 

In the last place, we will notice the case of Judas, 
who betrayed Jesus. Because Jesus said ; " It had 
been good for that man if he had not been bom," it is 
now contended that Judas is in a state of misery from 
which there is no deliverance. But did the divine 
teacher say any thing on the subject of the state of 
existence that Judas would be in after this life ? No, 
he surely did not. How then can his words prove 
what they say nothing of? 

Let us ask the following question ; Is it possible to 
prove that Judas now has any existence, from the 
words of Jesus, which we have quoted ? " It had 
been good for that man if he had not been born." 
Do these words prove that Judas is now in existence ? 
Surely no one will even pretend this. But it is beyond 
all scruple, that a sentence which does not prove that 
a man exists at a given time, cannot prove that he is 
miserable or hapf>y at the same given time. 

But it is said, if Judas exists, and if he should be 
made happy in the eternal world, the words of Jesus 
are not true, because the existence of Judas will be a 
blessing. This we pronounce loose and fallacious rea- 
soning, such as is never used to prove any thing, except 
the doctrine of a future or endless misery. In all 
matters appertaining to men's interest, in this life, bet- 
ter proof is required than what is here relied on, to 
prove a state of endless torment. We even venture 
to say, that there could not be found a jury of twelve 
men who would award property to the amount of ten 
dollars to a man, who could not prove his claim to it 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 289 

by evidence more to his case. We may suppose that 
Jesus meant, that it would have been good for Judas, 
if his lot had been appointed with those who never 
saw the light; or we may suppose that he meant, it 
would have been good for Judas if he had not been 
born until after that period of time ; or we may sup- 
pose that Jesus meant, it would have been good for 
Judas if he had not at that time been born of the 
spirit of truth ; for Peter says of those that fall away, 
"«It would have been better for them not to have 
known the way of righteousness, than after they have 
known it, to turn from the holy commandments deliv- 
ered unto them." Either of these suppositions is within 
the possible meaning of the words of Jesus ; but the 
supposition that Jesus meant, that it would have been 
good for Judas not to have had an existence, is not 
within the possible meaning of his words ; for if he 
had not existed, he could have received no good in 
any way. Whoever will carefully read what Job says 
concerning his being born, in his 3d chapter, and like- 
wise what Jeremiah says of his own birth in his 20th 
chapter, will surely find as much proof of the misery 
of these men in another world, as they can find in the 
words of Jesus respecting the misery of Judas in the 
future state. 

According to the words of Jesus in the 19th of 
Matthew, Judas had followed him in the regeneration. 
And we learn by the account we have in the 10th 
chapter, that Judas, as well as the rest of the twelve 
Apostles, was endowed with power to heal the sick, 
to cleanse lepers, to raise the dead, and to cast out 
devils ; he w 7 as also commissioned to preach the gos- 
pel. In the labors of this miraculous ministry, we 
have no account that Judas was not as faithful and as 
successful as the rest of the twelve. But he was a 
fallible man like the rest ; satan entered into him, and 
he committed one act that was base in the extreme ; 
he betrayed his Master. Peter also denied him, and 
confirmed his denial with oaths. Judas was called a 
devil, and Peter was called satan. Our tradition has 

25 



290 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

placed Judas in hell, in the eternal world, and Peter 
in heaven. 

The exclamation that Judas made when he repent- 
ed and brought back the money (O that all, who pro- 
fess to repent, would do likewise,) to the chief priests 
is worthy of observation : " I have sinned, in that I 
have betrayed the innocent blood." — This shows the 
high estimation in which this unhappy man held inno- 
cence. It seems that the pain of his heart was occa- 
sioned by his having betrayed the innocent. 

Now if he had had no love nor regard for inno- 
cence, but if entire opposition to all good had pos- 
sessed his heart, he surely would not have repented 
and brought back the money ; he would not have ex- 
claimed, " I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the 
innocent blood." 

My friends, the scriptures give no account that this 
man was miserable in another state; but the distress 
his soul was in, in consequence of having betrayed the 
innocent Jesus, should be a solemn warning to every 
one of us, that we never violate our duty to the 
innocent. 

To conclude : God took away the Sodomites, Pha- 
raoh and his host, Korah and his company, the inhab- 
itants of the old world, Judas who betrayed his Mas- 
ter, and many others, as he saw good. His designs 
are all the designs of goodness. And if the Holy 
Ghost had intended to inform us that all those people 
were miserable in the invisible world, we should have 
found it so recorded in the faithful testimony. But 
we have reason to be thankful, and to praise the name 
of him, who gave himself a ransom for all, who is the 
propitiation for the sins of the whole world. We 
have great consolation in believing, that, " as in Adam 
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." In 
opposition to the doctrine of future, endless misery, 
we present the unchangeable goodness of that God, 
who "is good unto all, and whose tender mercies are 
over all his works." 



LECTURE XXI. 



VEXATION OF FALSE RELIGION. 

ISAIAH xxviii. last of 19. 

"And it shall be a vexation only to understand the report." 

The prophet, in this chapter, contemplates the 
house of Israel in a state of great seeming security, 
into which they had introduced themselves, by making 
a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell, 
and by preparing for themselves a refuge of lies. 

As is perfectly natural with those, who, by their 
own wisdom, frame for themselves partial systems, this 
people exulted in their confidence, and raised their 
expectations of seeing the destructions and calamities, 
from which they fancied themselves secure, fall like an 
overflowing scourge on those who had neglected to 
enter into their covenant, to avail themselves of their 
agreement, and to take shelter in their refuge. 

According to their confidence and expectation they 
said ; " We have made a covenant with death, and 
with hell are we at agreement ; when the overflowing 
scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us ; 
for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood 
have we hid ourselves." 

Thus an overflowing scourge was expected ; but it 
was to come on others, they were safe. They had 
made due preparations for security, and had nothing 
to anticipate but their own safety and the destruction 
of others, who had neglected to get an interest in their 
means of defence. 

But the wisdom of man is foolishness with God. 
When he thinks himself secure, and is looking out for 
the destruction of others, he is frequently subjected to 



292 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

the vexation of seeing his confidence fail, his hope 
expire, and his expectations die. 

Such was the lot of that people whom the prophet 
addressed in this chapter. For in reply to their 
boasting, the Lord says ; " Behold I lay in Zion for a 
foundation a stone, a tried stone ; a precious corner 
stone, a sure foundation ; he that believeth shall not 
make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and 
righteousness to the plummet ; and the hail shall 
sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall 
overflow the 1 hiding-place. And your covenant with 
death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with 
hell shall not stand ; when the overflowing scourge 
shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by 
it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you : 
for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and 
by night ; and it shall be a vexation only to understand 
the report. For the bed is shorter than that a man 
can stretch himself on it ; and the covering narrower 
than that he can wrap himself in it." This was 
widely different from their expectations. All their 
calculations failed. Their covenant with death dis- 
annulled ; their agreement with hell dissolved ; and 
the waters overflowed the hiding-places composed of 
lies. The bed prepared for repose is found to be too 
short; and the covering designed for defence from 
the cold, is too narrow. Thus their labor is lost: and 
n room of security they find trouble, and in room of 
oeholding the destruction of others, they are vexed 
with the report of their own. 

That the spirit of prophecy spake in this chapter 
concerning Christ and the gospel day seems evident 
from the 16th verse, which has been quoted. 

" Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a 
tried stone ; a precious corner stone, a sure founda- 
tion ; he that believeth shall not make haste." Com- 
pare this with the following words of St. Peter; 
" Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, 
Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, pre- 
cious ; and he that believeth on him shall not be con- 
founded." Also Acts iv. 11. "This is the stone 



293 

which was set at nought by you builders, which is 
become the head of the corner." Likewise Psalm 
cxviii. 22, 23. " The stone which the builders refused 
is become the head stone of the corner. This is the 
Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes;" com- 
pared with Matt. xxi. 42. " Jesus saith unto them, 
did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which 
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of 
the corner; this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvel- 
lous in our eyes? " To this stone St. Paul alludes in 
Romans ix. where he speaks of the stumbling of the 
house of Israel, as follows; "But Israel, which fol- 
lowed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained 
to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because 
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the 
works of the law : for they stumbled at the stumbling 
stone ; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stum- 
bling stone, and a rock of offence : and whosoever 
believeth on him shall not be ashamed." 

By the light shed on our subject, by this comparison 
of scripture testimony, we are assisted to make the 
following conclusions. 

I. The doctrine and religion of the old Jewish 
church, were represented by the prophet, as a cove- 
nant with death, an agreement with hell, and a refuge 
of lies. 

II. The Messiah, his doctrine and religion, are 
represented by a precious corner stone, judgment laid 
to the line and righteousness to the plummet, and to 
hail and to waters forming an overflowing scourge, by 
which the covenant with death is disannulled, the 
agreement with hell destroyed, and the refuge of lies 
overflown. And 

III. The vexation which the report of the doctrine, 
religion, and things of Jesus would cause his enemies, 
in the day of the manifestation of his power and grace. 

The doctrine and religion of the old Pharisees, the 
most religious sect among the Jews, being the natural 
fruits of their carnal evil hearts, were very justly rep- 
resented by a covenant and an agreement with death 
and hell. St. Paul says, " To be carnally minded is 



294 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

death." And Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, said ; 
" O generation of vipers ! how long can ye, being evil, 
speak good things ? for out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out of the 
good treasures of his heart, bringeth forth good things ; 
and an evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth 
forth evil things." 

There never was but two sorts of religion in the 
world, the true and the false. True religion is the 
natural growth of a good heart; and false religion is 
the spontaneous production of an evil heart. There 
never was but two doctrines in the world, the true and 
the false. The true doctrine is the offspring of the 
wisdom which is from above ; and the false is the vain 
imagination of the wisdom which is from beneath. 
" The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then 
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of 
mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without 
hypocrisy ; " but the wisdom which is from beneath is 
directly the reverse ; it is impure, contentious, unkind, 
inexorable, unmerciful, full of evil fruits, partial, and 
hypocritical. 

This last was the doctrine of the Pharisees. It was 
that leaven which had, in a great degree, leavened the 
whole Jewish nation. It rendered the Pharisees and 
the people in general so inimical to Christ and his 
gospel. 

This doctrine, which is represented by a covenant 
with death, and an agreement with hell, may always 
be known by its enmity. Put it into whatever dress 
you may, call it by whatever name you please, repre- 
sent it as the most precious of all treasures, all this 
does not alter its nature. Call it, if you will, the 
apostolic faith, the holy catholic, the evangelic, the 
Calvinistic, the Arminian, or the orthodox ; if there 
oe partiality, if there be an unmerciful spirit, and if 
there be an implacable wrath in it, it is a covenant 
with death, and an agreement with hell. This doc- 
trine may be taught by a renowned Gamaliel, it may 
have and command the influence of colleges and emi- 
nent professors, it may be decorated with gowns and 
bands, but it remains the same. 



B alloc' s lectures. 295 

Lies and hypocrisy are its refuge. In his faithful- 
ness to his adversaries, our Saviour did not fail to 
point out their hypocrisy, and the methods by which 
they deceived the people. He said ; " Wo unto you, 
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye devour wid- 
ow's houses, and for a pretence make long prayer." 
All such prayers were falsehoods ; they were mere 
pretences, designed to deceive the people. For this 
species of hypocrisy, Jesus told them, that they should 
receive the greater damnation. 

Again, the Saviour said ; " Wo unto you, scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye compass sea and 
land to make one proselyte ; and, when he is made, 
ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than 
yourselves," This must have been done by falsehood 
and deceit. 

" Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! 
for ye make clean the outside of the cup and the 
platter, but within they are full of extortion and ex- 
cess." This again is all deceit. " Wo unto you, 
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like unto 
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful out- 
ward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of 
all uncleanness." All this was designed to point out 
their hypocrisy, in appearing to be righteous when 
they were full of iniquity? 

" Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! 
because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and gar- 
nish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, if we 
had been in the days of our fathers, we would not 
have been partakers with them in the blood of the 
prophets." All this again was hypocrisy, which proved 
them to be the children of those who killed the proph- 
ets. The Saviour further said to his enemies ; " Fill 
ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, 
ye generation of vipers ! how can ye escape the dam- 
nation of hell ? " 

Speaking to his disciples concerning the scribes and 
Pharisees, Jesus said ; " All their works do they to be 
seen of men : they make broad their phylacteries, and 
enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the 



296 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the 
synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be 
called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." 

When these hypocrites gave any thing to the poor, 
they would sound a trumpet before them in the Syna- 
gogues, and in the streets, that they might have glory 
of men. When they fasted they were careful to dis- 
figure their faces and to appear with sad countenances, 
that they might appear unto men to fast. These sol- 
emn, but false indications formed the refuge of lies 
which suitably become the partial doctrine and illiberal 
religion which they professed and practiced, and which 
the prophet represented by a covenant with death and 
an agreement with hell 

We have already said that there never was but one 
false religion, that there never was but one false doc- 
trine ; this false doctrine and spurious religion have al- 
ways in all ages, do now, and will as long as they ex- 
ist in the world manifest themselves by we righteous, 
and they wicked. 

When the advocates of partial religion talk of the 
wicked, they always speak in the third person. 
" This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." 
He is gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 
This is the native language of false religion. It is 
never heard to say, he is come to me a sinner, he re- 
ceiveth me a sinner. It never says, " this is a faithful 
saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am 
chief." 

When we say that there is but one false doctrine, 
we mean that all the doctrines invented by the wisdom 
of this world are one in spirit ; they are partial, they 
are full of enmity, they have treasures of unmerciful 
wrath in them ; in one word c you will always find that 
a false doctrine is unmerciful to sinners, but abundant- 
ly compassionate to the righteous. All the errors in 
the world are but one in this. 

Those, who look on themselves as righteous, and 
view others as sinners, calculate largely on their own 
safety, on the rich rewards which they are to receive ; 



297 

but are full of expectations and horror on account of 
the vengeance that is coming on the wicked. This is 
the case with the Pharisee in all countries, and has 
been in all ages. The old Pharisees of Jerusalem, 
those of the christian church of every denomination 
are one character, of one doctrine, of one spirit, they 
all speak one language. They look out for an over- 
flowing scourge to fall on the wicked, but they are se- 
cure. 

To such people the mild, merciful doctrine of Jesus 
is an overflowing scourge ; to such doctrine, that gos- 
pel which is as the rain, which distils as the dew. is as 
a storm of hail which beats the tender herb to the 
ground. 

To hear the news, to understand the report that 
grace, mercy, and peace are flowing to sinners through 
a kind Redeemer is indeed a vexation. 

Let us, my hearers, notice some of the instances of 
vexation occasioned by the goodness and mercy of 
the Saviour, which are recorded in the New Testa- 
ment. 

But first let us observe how exactly the Pharisees 
were prepared to meet with disappointment and vexa- 
tion. They expected a Messiah, and were looking out 
for him. They had no doubt but he would be one of 
their order, and would come to them as to the only 
righteous people on earth. They expected to receive 
his full approbation, and to hear all the anathemas 
which they had been in the habit of pronouncing on 
sinners, who had neglected to conform to their religion, 
reiterated by their Messiah accompanied with execu- 
tive wrath. 

Under these circumstances, and with such expecta- 
tions, the chief priests, scribes, doctors of the law and 
Pharisees, at Jerusalem, hear a report which is circu- 
lated about the city, of one Jesus, away in the extreme 
part of the country, in Galilee of the Gentiles, who has 
undertaken to preach. In such a case it would be 
natural for them to inquire, who he was, and what 
sort of a man, and how he came inducted into the 
ministry. They soon learn that he is the son of a car- 



298 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

penter, and that he was baptized by that John, who, 
being possessed of the devil, had the audacity to call 
them, as holy as they were, a generation of vipers. 
This information gives them disgust. 

Another report comes which states what this new 
preacher has insinuated respecting the scribes and 
Pharisees ; this report says, that the preacher has the 
impiety to tell his hearers ; " Except your righteous- 
ness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes phari- 
isees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." This is looked upon as most profane, yea 
abominable. There comes another report, and the 
news flies about like lightning, that this new preacher 
pretends to be the Messiah promised, and that he 
works miracles in confirmation of his divine mission ? 
This is vexation indeed. 

My friends, can you conceive of any thing that could 
have been a greater vexation to a religious people, to a 
people, who really believed that they were heaven's 
favorites ; and were conscious to themselves that they 
had served God in a most perfect manner, than to be 
told by one, who could heal the sick with a word, cast 
out demons by a command, open the eyes of the blind, 
and call the dead to life, that publicans and harlots 
should go into the kingdom of heaven before them ? 
If the man who made this declaration, had been an or- 
dinary character, or if he had been a person of no note 
among the people, it might not have occasioned them 
any trouble ; they might have suffered it to pass like 
the unstable wind, which might the next hour blow 
the other way. But what must have been their aston- 
ishment, vexation, and confusion on hearing this report 
from the lips of Jesus, whose fame had already extend- 
ed through all the country, whose wonderful miracles 
had already set the people all in motion, after whom 
thousands and thousands were flocking, carrying their 
sick, their lame, their blind and dumb, and who re- 
joiced in the manifestations of the divine power in heal- 
ing all infirmities among the people ? 

" Publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God 
before you." What a vexation ! The chief priests 



299 

and elders of the people, who were in expectation of 
the Messiah, and who had made every preparation for 
his reception, which they thought necessary, were now 
informed that publicans and harlots were to go into the 
kingdom of God before them. 

Never were people more vexed than were the phari- 
sees in the affair of the man who was born blind. In 
the first place they would not believe that he was 
born blind ; but after they had called his parents, and 
were certified that this was the case, they then asked 
him how he had received his sight. He assured them 
that Jesus had opened his eyes. They finally conclud- 
ed that even if he did open his eyes, yet he was a sin- 
ner because he had done it on the sabbath day. But 
others said ; " how can a man that is a sinner do such 
miracles, and there was a division among them." 

Such was the vexation occasioned by this astonish- 
ing miracle, and by the testimony of him on whom it 
was performed, that they cast him out of the Syna- 
gogue. 

The raising of Lazarus, and the report of this fact 
caused great vexation among the pharisees, who on 
this account, together with the chief priests, gathered a 
council, and said, what do we ? for this man doeth 
many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will 
believe on him." And they took counsel to put him 
to death. Nor did they think that this would be suffi- 
cient to prevent the evil ; they thought it expedient 
also to put Lazarus to death, because many of the 
Jews believed on Jesus on account of going to see 
Lazarus, and being made acquainted with the fact of 
his having been dead, but raised up by the power of 
Jesus. 

This divine teacher gave his enemies unspeakable 
vexation by charging them with hypocrisy to their 
faces, by calling them serpents, and a generation of 
vipers, and pronouncing on them woes and the damna- 
tion of hell. 

But nothing caused greater vexation to the self- 
righteous, than the language of Jesus to sinners. 
"Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee; 



300 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

daughter, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." 
For this they charged him with blasphemy. 

This forgiveness of sins, placed the sinner on the 
same footing with the righteous, which was a vexation 
to those who had been at an incalculable expense and 
trouble to become righteous. 

The parable of the laborers was designed to set 
forth the impartial goodness of God, and the vexation 
that the self-righteous would feel on hearing the report. 
All the day long did the laborers who were first hired, 
make their calculations how much better they were to 
fare at evening, than those who were idle in the mar- 
kets. And when they saw them come into the vine- 
yard at the eleventh hour, they were persuaded that 
they would receive little, or nothing for what they did; 
but when they saw them paid off, and knew that they 
received every man a penny, they were in hopes of re- 
ceiving more, but what was their vexation when they 
received their penny also ? 

They murmured; they complained, they accused the 
good man of the house of unjust conduct; but he told 
them that he would give unto the last even as unto 
them. 

The parable of the prodigal and the elder brother 
is another representation of the vexation which the 
doctrine of divine grace caused in the minds of the 
pharisees. When the elder brother was coming from 
the field at evening, he heard music and dancing in 
the house and great merriment and rejoicing. He 
sent a servant to know the occasion, who returned and 
informed him that his brother had come home, and 
that his father had killed the fatted calf, because he 
had received him safe and sound. 

O the vexation that this report occasioned ! He now 
looked back on the tedious labors which he for a long 
time, " lo many years," had faithfully performed in the 
service of his father, without even a kid to make merry 
with his friends. All this he compared with the ease, 
and pleasure in which his prodigal brother had passed 
his time, and wasted his father's property, and the ex- 
pensive entertainment and sumptuous feasting with 



301 

which his father had welcomed him on his return. 
Such was the vexation of this toil-worn laborer, on 
hearing this report, that "he was angry and would 
not go in." No. he would not go into his own house, 
he would not refresh himself on his own provisions, he 
would not return to his own rest. His father came 
out and entreated him, but to no effect, of which we 
are informed. 

My friends, what was the matter which caused this 
anger and vexation ? It was simply this, the father's 
compassion, his mercy and grace to the sinner, was 
like an overflowing scourge, was like a storm of hail 
to the malevolent, unmerciful sentiments of this self- 
righteous bigot, who felt as if he could have rejoiced to 
see his brother excluded from all mercy. 

It seems next to impossible, that any should not un- 
derstand this case, and see the difference between the 
doctrine of the self-righteous, and that doctrine of di- 
vine grace, which gave such offence to the enemies of 
Jesus. 

Such was their offence, such their vexation, that 
they finally procured the death of the Lord of glory. 
But by this means they were preparing for still greater 
vexation. 

" God moves in a mysterious way, 
His purpose to perform." 

After they had crucified the merciful Jesus, they 
made careful exertions to prevent his disciples impos- 
ing on the people a report of his resurrection. A 
stone was set at the mouth of the sepulchre, and a 
guard of soldiers to watch. 

How hush, how still is the world ! Every thing iS 
now secure. No multitudes now flocking in crowds 
to hear the preaching of Jesus, no poor blind one gro- 
ping after him who could give sight to the blind, none 
rushing along the streets with their sick, lame, and pos- 
sessed of devils, to find him who controled all maladies, 
no little children in the streets, crying hosannah to the 
son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name ot 
the Lord. Where are the disciples of the crucified 
26 



302 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

Jesus? They have fled, like timorous lambs from 
prowling wolves. None dare show themselves. The 
powers of darkness seem to triumph. 

The scene changes, all Jerusalem is in astonishment. 
The disciples are publicly preaching the resurrection 
of Jesus ; are endowed with the holy ghost and the 
gift of tongues, so that men of all nations hear them 
speak in their own language, the wonderful works of 
God. 

The report of these things must have vexed the 
chief priests, the elders, the scribes and the pharisees 
beyond all description. They now saw all their efforts 
fail, and their hopes blasted. The apostles accused 
them of having murdered Jesus, whom God had anoint- 
ed ; they performed most astonishing miracles in con- 
firmation of their testimony. When Peter and John 
restored the lame man in the temple before all the 
people, and declared that this miracle was wrought 
through faith in the name of Jesus, whom God had 
raised from the dead, these enemies of the gospel were 
" grieved that they taught the people, and preached 
through Jesus the resurrection of the dead." 

After this manner the word of God prospered, the 
gospel spread ; and though it was the rain of righteous- 
ness and the gentle dew of peace divine to those who 
had professed no religion, had formed no covenant 
with death, nor agreement with hell, yet to the phari- 
sees, to the scribes, to the chief priests, and to the el- 
ders it was an overflowing scourge, it was as a storm 
of hail that beats the tender herb to the earth. 

The report of the conversion of Saul, of his renounc- 
ing their superstitions, deserting the cause of persecut- 
ing the name of Jesus, and his preaching the gospel 
to the gentiles, was calculated to give them much per- 
plexity and great vexation ? 

Thus far, dear friends, we have noticed things which 
took place in ancient times; let us now inquire if 
any thing similar is known in our day ? Yes, we have 
those who profess the name of Jesus, say unto him, 
Lord, Lord, and yet are of the sentiments and descrip- 
tion of the old Pharisees. Thev have made a covenant 



LECTURES. 303 

with death and an agreement with hell. Death and 
hell compose their religion. Do they not hide them- 
selves in a refuge of lies ? Do they not for a pretence 
make long prayer ? but devour widows houses ? Do 
they not appear like whited sepulchres outward, and 
yet within are they not full of extortion ? Do they 
not lie with their countenances, by disfiguring their 
faces ? Did you- never see professors of religion wear 
a very different face at one time than at another ? 
Yes, you reply, but you thought it was because they 
were a most godly people. Then you have given 
them their reward, for this opinion of yours is all that 
they disfigured their faces for. 

These modern pharisees are the most zealous people 
in religion, they look upon themselves as the favorites 
of heaven, but those who do not subscribe to their 
agreements and covenants, and take shelter in their 
refuge of deceit, they esteem as objects of the divine 
wrath which is ready to burst upon them, and lingers 
to blast them in everlasting woe. 

To these enemies of the meek, humble, kind and 
merciful doctrine and religion of Jesus, the report, 
which God is sending forth at this eventful period, of 
his impartial grace, and his tender mercies which are 
over all his works, is a most grievous vexation. 

When the divine testimony is brought to them, 
which certifies that God "will have all men to be 
saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth," 
that Jesus "gave himself a ransom for all, to be testi- 
fied in due time," that " where sin abounded, grace 
did much more abound," that " as by the offence of 
one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; 
even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came 
upon all men unto justification of life," that " as in 
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive," 
in power, in glory, in honor, in incorruption and im- 
mortality, this faithful report is a vexation. 

Stung with resentment, they exclaim, heresy, delu 
sion, a dangerous doctrine, a doctrine pleasing to the 
carnal mind, and which tends to all manner of vice. 



304 

They complain that this doctrine holds out no reward 
for righteousness ; if God has mercy on the sinner, 
then there is no encouragement to serve him ; if sin- 
ners are not to be punished eternally, it is no matter 
what they do. So murmured the laborers who bore 
the burthen and the heat of the day, at the good man 
who humbled their pride by making the last equal with 
them. 

Their eye was evil because goodness had extended 
beyond the narrow limits of their creed. They had 
lotted on the gratification which they expected in 
seeing those, who spent so much of their time in idle- 
ness, destitute and pennyless. Similar calculations 
are now made, and pretended saints are exulting in 
the expectation of the joys which they are to inherit 
in heaven in seeing sinners in endless perdition. 

So complained the elder brother, because his father 
kindly received the prodigal, and killed for his enter- 
tainment the fatted calf. Such was his resentment 
that he would not go into the house. Similar resent- 
ment is now manifested, and the proud boasting Phar- 
isee is heard to say " If sinners are going to heaven, 
I wish not to bear them company." 

O that these deceived souls could be introduced to, 
and form an acquaintance with so great strangers as 
they are to themselves. 

Then should we' hear from them a different lan- 
guage. Then would they say, if there be mercy for 
sinners, then is there a ray of hope for us. If Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, then are we 
the objects of his unmerited favor. 

My christian friends, you' are most humbly and 
affectionately entreated not lo construe the faithful- 
ness of this discourse, to signify that the speaker har- 
bors one unfriendly feeling towards any denomination 
or name in the world. The sole object is to set truth 
before you, to show the difference between true and 
false religion, to endear the character, the doctrine, 
and spirit of Jesus to your hearts ; and to give you oc- 
casion to trust and to rejoice in his grace. 



" Let Pharisees of high esteem, 
Their faith and zeal declare ; 
All their religion is a dream, 
If love be wanting there." 

God is love, and love worketh no ill. Through all 
worlds, and to all beings, God is love. With him 
there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning. What 
he has been, and what he is now, is what he will for- 
ever remain. 

Let us, my Gear friends, imitate our Father in 
heaven ; let us love our neighbors as ourselves, let us 
'ove our enemies and pray for them. 



26 



LECTURE XXII. 

to sinners the cause 
of Christ's mission. 

ROMANS, v. 8. 

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sin- 
ners, Christ died for us. 

The general subject, on which the Apostle labored, 
which led him to the statement made in our text, was 
to show that the justification of man unto spiritual life, 
depended on a covenant of promise, and not on a law 
of works. In the preceding chapter our author is re- 
markably explicit, where he says , " Now to him that 
worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of 
debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on 
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
righteousness." And speaking of the faith of Abra- 
ham, even before circumcision, he says, " For the pro- 
mise that he should be the heir of the world, was not 
to Abraham or to his seed, through the law, but 
through the righteousness of faith. For if they which 
are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the 
promise made of none effect. Therefore it is of 
faith that it might be by grace ; to the end the 
promise might be sure to all the seed : not to that only 
which is of the law, but to that also which is of the 
faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." The 
faith of which the Apostle here speaks, is the same 
which he calls " the covenant of promise" in Ephe- 
sians ii. 12. It is an egregious mistake to suppose 
that Abraham's believing in the promise of God, is the 
"righteousness of faith," by which he was constituted 
the heir of the world ; for Abraham could not believe 
the promise that he should be the heir of the world un 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 307 

til such promise was communicated to him, and 
this promise could not have been communicated to 
him, at an earlier date than the establishment of its 
own truth in the purpose of him who made the 
promise. 

This covenant of promise is the faith, of which the 
Apostle again speaks in the beginning of this chapter 
as follows ; " Therefore, being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
That this faith, by which we are justified, is not our 
act of believing, will appear evident by the connexion 
in which the Apostle here places it. That we may 
understand this subject clearly, we must disregard the 
division of these two chapters, and read the last verse 
of the fourth chapter and the first of the fifth together. 
Speaking of Jesus, the Apostle says, "Who was deliv- 
ered for our offences, and was raised again for our justi- 
fication. Therefore being justified by faith, we h ve 
peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.'' 
Here it is evident that the inspired Apostle makes the 
resurrection of Christ, and the faith by which we are 
justified the same ; by which it is evident, that by 
faith he no more meant the act of believing, than he 
meant that the resurrection of Jesus, for our justifica- 
tion, was the act of believing. 

This faith, which is the covenant of promise, the 
Apostle distinguishes most clearly from the act of be- 
lieving in chapter 3d, as follows ; " For what if some 
did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of 
God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be 
true, but every man a liar." No one will suppose 
that the faith of God is his act of believing, for the act 
of believing is a consequence resulting from the pow- 
er of evidence in the mind, which power can never act 
in the mind of him who is omniscient. But this faith 
of God is his covenant of promise, made known to 
Abraham four hundred and thirty years before the 
giving of the law by Moses ; concerning which cove- 
nant our author speaks to the Galatians as follows; 
w And this I sav, that the covenant that was confirm- 



308 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

ed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four 
hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that 
it should make the promise of none effect." This cov- 
enant of promise this author again calls faith in the 
11th of Hebrews. " Now faith is the substance of 
things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." 
The substance of what we hope for is not our act of 
believing, but the thing in which we believe. 

It was thought needful to be thus particular on this 
subject, for two reasons. 

I. To expose the common error which supposes, 
that our act of believing is required as a condition of 
our justification before God. This error has so con- 
fused the minds of professors of Christianity, that they 
know not how to explain their own thoughts. They 
believe that God requires our act of believing as a 
condition of our justification ; and it is constantly held 
up and urged that our everlasting destruction will be 
the just recompense of our unbelief. But if we ask 
what there is for us to believe, there is no answer. 
For if the thing to be believed were stated, the next 
question would be, shall the unbelief of man make the 
faith of God without effect ? And, 

II. Because it was in the fulfilling of his covenant 
of promise, that God commended his love to sinners 
by the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

The particular mode by which the Apostle present- 
ed the testimony contained in our text was by drawing 
a comparison between the compassion or goodness of 
man, and the compassion or goodness of God. The 
following are his words ; " For when we were yet 
without strength, in due time Christ died for the un 
godly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; 
yet perad venture for a good man some would even 
dare to die. But God commendeth his love towards 
us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us." Here the comparison is clear and striking to the 
mind ; and evidently shows that the design of the 
Apostle was to show that the love of God to sinners 
is vastly stronger than the love of man toward man. 

The first particular which we shall consider as prov 



BALLOU's LECTURES. • 309 

ed by the testimony of our text is, that neither sin nor 
any thing else was ever the cause of enmity in God to- 
ward man. 

Though this proposition is of immense consequence, 
it seems to have been overlooked by our divines, who 
have constantly represented the divine Being to be full 
of vyrath and tremendous indignation against sinners. 
And yet the passage under consideration is a direct 
and plain testimony against all that has ever been said 
on this subject. 

The hearer is requested to notice, with attention, 
the two propositions which are in direct opposition to 
each other, and which are the foundations of true and 
false doctrine. One proposition asserts that God loves 
sinners, and that nothing ever can cause him to do 
otherwise ; and the other contends that God hates the 
sinner, and will eternally exercise unmerciful wrath 
on the transgressor. If one of these be true, the other 
must be false ; they cannot both be true, nor can they 
both be false. But which is true ? 

As there is like to be some dispute on this subject, 
and as the hearer will wish to have it so conducted, 
as to make a clear distinction, both between the par- 
ties, and their respective arguments, we will give to 
the parties distinguishing names. The party, who 
contends that God loves the sinner, we will call Light, 
and the one who contends for the contrary proposi- 
tion we will call Darkness. 

Do you ask why these names are chosen? Because 
light seems to be expressive of love, and darkness of 
hatred. And the beloved John says, " He that loveth 
his brother abideth in the light — But he that hateth his 
brother is in darkness." 

Let us hear what darkness argues in support of 
his favorite proposition, viz. that God hates the 
sinner. 

He says, as God is a Being of infinite holiness and 
purity he cannot love unholiness and impurity, but 
must, consistently with his own essential attributes, 
hate sin in an exact proportion to his love of righteous- 
ness ; and as the sinner is not righteous, but sinful ; 



310 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

is not holy, but unholy ; is not pure, but impure, God 
must of necessity hate the sinner. 

Light replies ; Though I grant your premises, yet I 
cannot concede to your conclusion. So far from al- 
lowing your conclusion to be a just deduction from 
your premises, I shall contend that it is in direct oppo- 
sition to them, and if it could be maintained as a truth, 
it must be by disproving the argument from which you 
deduce it. 

The amount of your argument is, that God is oppos- 
ed to sin. This I grant. Now tell me, Darkness, what 
is sin ? 

Sin is the transgression of the law. What does the 
law require? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with 
all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself. 

Rightly answered. Now, Darkness, do you not see 
that hatred is the transgression of, and the only sin 
that can be committed against this law ? If it be sin 
for man to hate God, is it holiness for God to hate 
man? In room of hating sin, you contend that God 
hates the sinner, that is, he hates the man who hates 
him. Thus you deny your own premises. For there 
is no more holiness in God's hating man, than there is 
in man's hating God ; there is no more righteousness 
in any supposed enmity in God toward man, than there 
is in man's enmity toward God. 

Darkness says, that this argument is blasphemy, that 
it accuses God with unholiness and sin. 

Light denies the charge, and says ; It is you, Dark- 
ness, that accuses God with this unholy spirit of ha- 
tred. To illustrate the subject light uses the following 
metaphor. 

The parent of a family of children gives to his off- 
spring a law which requires them all to love him sin- 
cerely, and to love each other ; but these children fall 
out by the way, get wrong notions respecting their 
parent's character and law, and are filled with hatred 
toward him, toward his law, and toward one another. 
In consequence of this the parent, in room of loving 
his children as he did when he first gave them this 






311 

law, now hates them and is full of enmity towards his 
disobedient offspring. What a sad scene is here ! 
The children are enemies to their parent, and what. 
is worse, the parent is an enemy to his children ! 

Let candor judge in this case, let enlightened rea- 
son decide the question, which is worst, for the child 
to hate the parent, or for the parent to hate the child ? 
Though the light shineth in darkness, yet the darkness 
comprehendeth it not. 

If the death of Christ for sinners was a commenda- 
tion of the love of God toward us, it certainly proves, 
beyond all contradiction, that sin, nor any thing else 
had caused any hatred or enmity in God toward 
man. 

The second thing which we shall consider as prov- 
ed by the declaration of our text is, that the common 
opinion and doctrine of the church, which has repre- 
sented the death of Christ as necessary in order to re- 
concile God to mankind is erroneous. 

This error has been exposed and disproved in some 
of our former lectures, but as it is an error of such 
vast magnitude, involving such palpable absurdities, 
representing God as a changeable Being ; and as it is 
so generally believed among various denominations, 
it seems proper to notice it in our discourse from the 
words under consideration, by which the error is so 
fully exploded. 

The error under consideration supposes, that man- 
kind in consequence of sin, was under the divine wrath 
of God, which required the endless misery of the trans- 
gressor : and that Jesus Christ suffered the wrath of 
God in room and stead of the sinner, by which God 
became reconciled and satisfied. The statement is 
made thus plain, that the hearer may have a distinct 
view of the subject, and be able to judge after hearing 
what may be offered on it. 

That this testimony is by no means too high colored, 
may be seen by the following quotations from our 
hymns. But before we attend to the quotations, let it 
be observed, that we hold these hymns, in general, in 
high estimation, and the authors of them as bright and 



312 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

t 

shining lights in the christian constellation ; but after 
all we are disposed to do ourselves justice by gathering 
the good into vessels, and by casting the bad away. 

" Once we were fallen, O how low; 
Just on the brink of endless wo. 

Sinners to save from endless woes, 
The wrath divine he sinks beneath. 

Think, how his side was pierced for you, 
T" appease the wrath divine. 

He on Calvary's summit died: 
God, your Father satisfied. 

Sinner's to save from endless wo, 
The Father's frown he sinks beneath 

'T is finish'd — Heaven is reconcil'd. 

The wrath of an offended God, 
In sweet oblivion laid. 

And sinners freed from endless pains, 
Own him their Saviour and their head." 

Here are endless woes, endless pains, Divine wrath, 
the Father's wrath, the wrath of an offended God, an 
unreconciled heaven, all which stood threatening man- 
kind, but were poured forth on the devoted head of 
Jesus, by which we are saved from the wrath of God. 

My brethren, such language as this certainly repre- 
sents our Father in heaven, to be a changeable Being, 
and a Being capable of exercising the greatest possible 
enmity. It supposes that our merciful Father was so 
full of wrath, that he was just on the point of sending 
mankind to a state of endless wo, when Jesus stept be- 
tween us and harm, snatched the thunderbolt from 
the uplifted hand of stern justice, and received its 
burning vengeance in his own innocent bosom, at which 
God was satisfied. 

This is the theme our christian doctors have incul- 
cated, and our christian poets have sung, but it is the 
blackness of darkness which has obscured the beauty 
of the Divine countenance for ages, and caused the 
mind to wander in the labyrinth of error. 

This error is found in that creed, which lay on our 
cradles in our infancy, and our dear mothers taught 
us to repeat with infant lips, and to say, " All mankind 






313 

oy the fall, lost communion with God, are under his 
wrath and curse ; and so made liable to all the mise- 
ries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell 
forever." 

In opposition to this erroneous representation, let 
us place our text together with a few concurrent 
passages. 

" But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, 
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God 
so loved the world, that he gave his only oegotton 
Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not per- 
ish, but have everlasting life. Herein is love, not that 
we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son 
to be the propitiation for our sins. But God, who* 
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved 
us, even when we were dead in sins hath quickened 
us together with Christ." 

These passages, which are but a specimen of the 
gospel, fully prove the following facts. 

I. That God loved the sinful world of mankind with 
a great love. 

II. That in consequence of this love he sent his 
Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins, 
And, 

III. That in consequence of the love which God had 
toward those who were dead in sins, he quickened 
them together with Christ. Now just as plain as these 
obvious facts are proved by the testimony already re- 
cited, so evident it is that the death of Christ was nev- 
er necessary to reconcile our heavenly Father to us ; 
but was a manifestation of his unchangeable love to- 
ward us. 

The third particular which you are invited to con- 
template relative to our text is, that its subject belongs 
to that covenant of promise which was the Apostle's 
theme which led him to speak these words. That we 
may have a clear view of this, let us first examine the 
character of the promise made to Abraham, by which 
he was constituted the heir of the world and the Fath- 
er of us all ; and then bring our text to compare with 
the promise, that their union may be visible. The pro- 
27 



314 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

mise to Abraham reads thus, " In thee shall all fami- 
lies of the earth be blessed." St. Paul's comment on 
this promise in his epistle to the Galatians is as fol- 
lows, " And the scriptures, foreseeing that God would 
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the 
gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations 
be blessed." By this passage we learn, that the bles- 
sing which God promised to all the nations of the earth 
was justification through faith ; which faith we have 
proved to be the covenant of promise, or the faith 
of God which cannot be made void by the unbelief of 
man. Relative to this justification our Apostle says 
to the Romans ; " For all have sinned and come short 
•of the glory of God ; being justified freely by his grace, 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." And 
again, in the chapter where our text is recorded, he 
says ; " Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment 
came upon all men unto condemnation, even so by the 
righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men 
unto justification of life." 

In the light of the divine promise to Abraham, 
which the passages here quoted present, we can see 
most clearly, that the gospel of eternal life was pro- 
mised to all mankind, as the bountiful, unbought, un- 
asked favor of our heavenly Father. And this favor, 
when stated in promise to Abraham, was, as it now 
remains, the necessary production of the divine, un- 
changeable love of God to mankind, which never was, 
nor can be made less by the sin of the world. Having 
this view of the goodness of God, we see the divine 
harmony of our text with the covenant of promise. 
" God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while 
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The same 
covenant love which was manifested to Abraham four 
hundred and thirty years before the giving of the law, 
by Moses, is now commended toward mankind, while 
yet in sin, by the death of him in whom all the fami- 
lies of the earth are blessed with justification. Tn re- 
lation to this divine subject Jesus said to the Jews ; 
" Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day ; ana 
he saw it, and was glad." 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 315 

The fourth particular subject belonging to our text, 
to which your attention is solicited, is embraced in the 
following question : Why did Christ die for us ? We 
have already proved that there was no necessity of his 
dying in order to procure the favor of God toward sin- 
ners, for if that had been the case, his death could not 
have been a commendation of the divine love. And 
indeed, if there were any need of more proof on this 
subject, than has been presented, we should find all 
deficiencies supplied, by the prayer of Jesus when dy- 
ing on the cross. 

Let us, my friends, with profound solemnity, listen 
to these words, which contain more true divinity, more 
pure unadulterated gospel, than all the creeds which 
have been written since the world began. " Father, 
forgive them, for they know not what they do." Why 
did he not say ; " Father, forgive them, for I have now 
suffered thy wrath which burned against them ; I have 
drank the cup of thy fury which was prepared for 
them ; I have borne that they may never bear thy 
righteous ire ? " If all this had been true, why should 
he pray as he did, and request that God would for- 
give them ? If the Father had exacted a full penalty 
for their sins, of his son, how could he after this be 
called on to forgive them ? But the reason, the plea 
which the dying Saviour stated in his prayer, was, 
" For they know not what they do." 

Our question remains. Why did Christ die for us? 
How are we benefitted by his death ? Be patient, we 
still reply in the negative. Christ did not die for us, 
that we might avoid condemnation if we commit sin, 
nor did he suffer for us, that we might not be pun- 
ished for faults if we commit them. This we know by 
our experience and by his word. We know by ex- 
perience, if we sin we feel condemned, and this we 
must feel until the condemnation is removed by re- 
pentance. And we know by the words of Jesus, that, 
in place of his suffering in our room and stead, as 
our erroneous doctrines have taught us, he will render 
unto every man according to his works. 

Why then did he die for us ? The answer is in 
our text. He died to commend the love of God to- 



BALL US LECTURES. 

ward us sinners. He died for us, lhat he might take 
away our sins. " Behold the lamb of God, which 
taketh away the sin of the world." He died, the just 
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. He 
suffered for us, to set us an example, that we should 
follow his steps. He died for us, that he might bring 
life and immortality to light through his resurrection. 
He died, rose and revived, that he might be Lord, 
both of the dead and the living. He died and rose 
again, that the scriptures of the prophets might be ful- 
filled, and the ministry of reconciliation be established. 
He suffered and died to show us how sin and all moral 
evil are to be overcome, by rendering good for evil, love 
for hatred, kindness for unkindness, and mercy for wrath. 
Four important particulars may be distinctly noticed 
which rendered the death and resurrection of Christ of 
vast utility to mankind. 

I. To commend and make known the unchangeable 
love and mercy of God to a sinful world, theieby to 
bring sinners to repentance and to be reconciled to God. 

II. To fulfil all that the prophets had written con- 
cerning him, that the authenticity of divine revelation 
and the doctrine of the gospel might be successfully com- 
municated to the gentile nations. 

III. That the patient sufferings which he endured 
for the benefit of his enemies and the whole world, might 
ever remain as an example for his disciples to imitate, 
in all faithfulness, patience, and resignation to the will 
of God. And, 

IV. That he might bring life and immortality to 
light by his glorious resurrection ; and manifest the 
truth of a future happy existence for mankind. 

If the mind will be serious and candid, it will at 
once acknowledge that these four particulars, when 
viewed in their harmony and proper connexion, when 
considered in relation to the innumerable blessings 
which they have already produced, and promise to 
produce in future, are altogether worthy of the wis- 
dom, power, and goodness of our heavenly Father. 

But to pretend that it was necessary for Christ to 
suffer and die to appease the wrath of our merciful 
Father in heaven, is the most unaccountable perversion 



317 

of divine truth, of which the vain imagination of be 
nighted humanity was ever capable. 

The fifth particular subject to which our text seems 
to invite our most careful notice is, that the love and 
mercy of God toward sinners, commended to us by the 
death of Christ, is consistent with the unchangeable 
principle of moral righteousness. 

It might be thought, that in order to establish this 
hypothesis, nothing more could be required as evi- 
dence than the text under consideration. For if we are 
certified that the divine being does in fact love sinners, 
that is sufficient evidence that it is morally right that he 
should do so ; but our present object is to do more than 
barely to prove the fact, the object is to illustrate it to the 
understanding. To do this we will first admit our op- 
poser's objection to be stated. The objection is this ; 

According to the strict rule of moral righteousness, 
every moral being must be treated according to his 
works; but if God does in reality love sinners, if he 
grants them the infinite blessings of his grace, it seems 
that he does not deal with them according to their de- 
serts. Reply 

It is granted that moral righteousness requires that 
every transgression and disobedience should receive a 
just recompense of reward, out then it must be grant- 
ed, that as the right to inflict punishment is derived 
from the commission of crime, so it is limited by the 
offence committed, and it is an acknowledged fact that 
to extend punishment beyond the demerit of a crime, 
is, at least, as wide a departure from moral right as to 
come short. But the right to do good and to show 
kindness is not derived, nor is it limited. 

In finite beings the power and means to do good and 
to show favor are limited, but. the right is not limited. 
And in every instance in which our power and means 
are limited to grant all the favor that is needed, we 
have the liberty still to extend our benevolent wishes 
without limitation. 

If one of our fellow creatures commits a crime which 
is punishable by law, it is true, we have no right to 
prevent this punishment, but we have an unlimited 
27* 



318 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

right to love this criminal, and beyond all the punish- 
ment of his crime, to wish him well, and if in our 
power, to do him all the good that he may need. 
Now, in punishing him according to his offence moral 
righteousness is perfectly executed, but it now has all 
the right and all the inclination to love and do the sub- 
ject good, as it had before any crime was committed. 

St. Paul, speaking of God says ; " Who hath saved 
us and called us, with an holy calling, not according 
to our works, but according to his own purpose and 
grace, which was given unto us in Christ Jesus before 
the world began." Before the world began, who can 
dispute that God had a moral right to purpose a dis- 
pensation of grace to mankind ? Or who will contend, 
that his right to love and to do good to the creatures 
which he should create, could be in the least limited by 
what they might do after they should be brought into 
being? 

A parent has an unlimited right to love an infant child, 
he has a right to bestow on it an immense fortune, 
even before the child has any knowledge of its parents. 
Nor does this, in the least interfere with either his right 
or duty to subject this same child to a reasonable and 
/ighteous discipline, in which the child may be re- 
warded for well doing, and chastised for its disobe- 
dience. 

Thus in the eternal mind of our Creator, a bound- 
less store of divine riches was treasured up for his ra- 
tional offspring, before man was brought into being ; 
and among ten thousand other favors, God appoint- 
ed a rod of correction, and a dispensation of chas- 
tisement for the improvement and moral benefit of 
mankind, while passing through a state of imperfection, 
subject to vanity. 

The sixth and last particular, which we now propose 
to make of our text, is to contemplate its sentiment 
as a pattern for our imitation, and as a principle worthy 
to be practised. 

This is the use which the Apostle John has made of 
the same sentiment, expressed in a passage which has 
already been noticed in this discourse. "Herein is 



319 

love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 
From this rich and glorious sentiment the Apostle 
draws the following conclusion. " Beloved, if God so 
loved us, we ought also to love one another." Cer- 
tainly there cannot be a more reasonable inference 
drawn from any proposition ever laid down than the 
one which the Apostle here draws from the love of 
God to mankind. If we had good reason to believe 
that our Father in heaven really hated his enemies or 
those who do not love him, if we were consistent with 
such a belief, we should hate all those whom we view- 
ed of this description. And this has been the case in 
the christian church as well as through the world. 
Men have hated and persecuted one another on this 
mistaken notion ; and verily thought they did God ser- 
vice by so doing. But if we are convinced that God 
loved us, while we were yet enemies to him by wicked 
works, and if we believe that he loves every sinner of 
the human family, and that he has manifested this love 
by the death of his holy child Jesus, it is all as clear as 
the sun in a cloudless day, that we ought to love our 
enemies, and to do them all the good that is in our 
power. And to do otherwise, my christian friends, is 
to deny our religion and our doctrine, and that in a 
more effectual manner than Peter denied his Lord. 

To conclude. Our subject presents before our 
rejoicing eyes, a boundless scene of divine grace ; it 
invites us to the sweetest field of contemplation, where 
goodness, unlimited goodness, mercy, unlimited and 
impartial mercy eternally flow as broad rivers and 
streams : as waters, risen waters for men to swim in, 
which no man can pass. 

Let us close with the appropriate words of the poet : 

" When all thy mercies, O my God, 
My rising soul surveys; 
Transported with the view, 1 'm lost, 
In wonder, love and praise." 



LECTURE XXIII. 

THE RESURRECTION A STATE OF HOLINESS AND BUSS 
1 THESSALONIANS, iv. 13, 

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which 
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

In a world of sorrow, in a state of being incident 
to tb^- infinite variety of adversity with which man is 
exercised, as nothing can be more needed, so nothing 
is esteemed more precious than that which is calculat- 
ed to mitigate our sorrows, soothe our grief, and sweet- 
en adversity. To do these, and to strow the thorny 
path of mortal life with the rose of consolation, and to 
open in. the parched ground of hopeless sorrow a liv- 
ing spring of ceaseless joy, the gospel of eternal life 
has been sent from God to man. 

As the parental sensibilities are moved with pity 
at the sorrows of their offspring in affliction, and as such 
an occasion is visited with special tokens of compas- 
sion, so hath it pleased the Father of our spirits to 
break through the dark clouds of mortality and death 
with the rain-bow of his covenant and to send his 
anointed to bind up the broken-hearted and to comfort 
all that mourn. 

In possession of the knowledge of the unseen, eter* 
nal things, belonging to the spiritual inheritance of the 
rational offspring of God, and exercised with that gen- 
eious affection and those kind sympathies which ever 
seek the benefit of others, it was impossible for the 
Apostle to stand an indifferent spectator of hopeless 
sorrow, when in possession of that divine knowledge by 
which a celestial cordial of consolation might be sea- 
sonably administered. 



BALLOu's LECTURES. 321 

But in order to administer consolation to those who 
are exercised with adversity or sorrow, it is necessary 
that the cause should be understood and likewise the 
extent of grief. Unless the physician understands the 
cause of complaint, and the extent of disease, it would 
be mere chance if he did not give force to the former, 
and enhance the latter by his prescriptions. The case 
of the woman in the gospel is an instance of what 
we are now observing. Twelve years was she troub- 
led with her disorder, " and had suffered many things 
of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, 
and was nothing the better, but rather grew worse." 
But when she came to Jesus she was made whole 
without suffering any thing of him, and without ex- 
pense. 

The cause of that kind of sorrow which the Apostle 
was desirous to prevent appears to be ignorance. Ob- 
serve the text ; " But I would not have you to be ig- 
norant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, 
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no 
hope." 

The particular subjects suggested by these words, 
and to which our future labors in the present discourse 
may be directed are the following. 

I. Ignorance concerning those which are asleep, is 
the only cause of hopeless sorrow for them. 

II. The knowledge of the truth concerning those 
which are asleep administers hope and comfort to those 
who mourn for their friends. 

III. This knowledge is communicated in the gospel, 
through Jesus Christ. 

There are two powers by which ignorance operates 
in the human mind, in a way to prevent happiness 
and to augment sorrow, even to despair. The first 
prevents our knowing the things which belong to our 
peace, and the second opens a door for an infinite 
variety of imaginations all calculated to administer afflic- 
tion and to cause our sorrows to increase. 

The mind that is destitute of knowledge and at the 
same time devoted to fearful imagination, is like one 
disturbed by a frightful dream. 



3*22 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

Safely slumbering in the peaceful chamber of re- 
pose, and no danger nigh, one might dream of de- 
scending a declivity directly leading to a fatal preci- 
pice, view destruction as inevitable, and feel the pang 
of despair ; and the whole difficulty end with the sud- 
den interruption of the dream. In fact, though there 
were every possible reason for sweet content, support- 
ing confidence, and joyful hope, ignorance of all these 
things would not only prevent these blessings, but 
expose the mind to a thousand imaginary anticipations 
which belong to the family of despair. 

A few examples from the scriptures may serve fur 
tber to illustrate this subject. 

There were three particular events relative to the 
patriarch Jacob, his ignorance of which was the cause 
of the greatest anxiety, most fearful apprehensions, 
and hopeless sorrow. When he was informed that 
his brother Esau, whom he had supplanted, was com- 
ing to meet him with four hundred men, he feared 
the wrath of his injured brother, and his soul was 
greatly troubled for his wives and for his children. 
There was no way of escape by flight, his means to 
oppose his brother were nothing ; he feared all was lost, 
and that the anger of his brother would blot out his 
name forever from under heaven. Now imagination 
presented before his almost distracted eyes the most 
shocking catastrophe to which mothers and their in- 
nocent children could possibly be exposed. His fear- 
ful heart melted within him, and he placed his devot- 
ed family in the order in which, if they must be de- 
stroyed, his choice would dictate, and in that arrange- 
ment which might possibly afford him an opportuni- 
ty of saving such as were the most dear to his trou- 
bled heart. But how suddenly were his fears all dis- 
pelled when Esau ran to him, embraced him with fra- 
ternal affection and tenderness, and kindly receiv- 
ed and compassionately treated every branch of his 
family. 

What an expense of feelings, the most tormenting 
would have been saved in this case, if the love and 
forgiveness, which most bountifully flowed in the heart 



323 

of Esau toward his brother, had been known to him, 
whose ignorance of the truth had deprived him of 
peace, and had let a thousand frightful apprehen- 
sions into his mind, which had no foundation in fact. 

It might be about ten years after this, that the sons 
of Jacob brought to their father the coat of many col- 
ors, which his beloved Joseph wore from home, when 
he went to seek after the welfare of his brethren. This 
coat, they now presented to their father, torn in pieces 
and covered with blood. "He knew it, and said, it 
is my son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured him ; 
Joseph is, without doubt, rent in pieces. And Jacob 
rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and 
mourned for his son many days." Yea he refused 
all comfort and said ; " I will go down into the grave 
unto my son mourning." 

Who can describe the sorrow which preyed on the 
heart of the afflicted father ? Methinks I see him seat- 
ed alone beneath some favorite, salutary shade, giving 
vent to his grief and indulgence to his tears. He 
seems to ask ; was it the lion's paw that struck the 
tender lad to the ground, or was it the hungry jaw of 
the merciless tiger that dislocated his youthful limbs, or 
was it the voracious leopard that deprived me of the 
desire of my eyes? O cruel ignorance! what dis 
tract) ng imaginations ! Could Jacob but have known 
that his Joseph was safe in the hands of the Angel of 
God who protected him, hope would have brightened 
his countenance, soothed his affliction, and administer- 
ed peace and joy to his heart. 

In the days of the famine, when the sons of Israel 
were to go down to Egypt the second time, and when 
they demanded Benjamin to go with them, how trying 
was all this to the heart of the father of the twelve 
tribes. How full of grief are his words. " Joseph is 
not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin 
away. All these things are against me." Such were 
the hopeless sorrows of one who was ignorant concern- 
ing the subjects of his sorrow. At the very moment 
when this dark and gloomy aspect lay before his eyes, 
Joseph was lord of all Egypt, the owner of the vast 



324 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

graineries in that land of plenty, and Simeon was safe 
in the hands of his compassionate brother ; and both 
were waiting with fervent desire to see Benjamin. Had 
the venerable Patriarch known at this time the truth, 
his heart would have leaped for joy, as it afterwards 
did when his children returned and told him that Jo- 
seph was alive. 

In the several cases which we have noticed, it is 
evident that the ignorance of Jacob was that which not 
only prevented the joyful expectations of hope, but in- 
troduced the most tormenting imaginations. 

Now the sentiment of our text supposes that this 
is the case with those, who being ignorant concern- 
ing them that are asleep, sorrow for them without 
hope. 

There are two opinions concerning those who are 
fallen asleep in death, and but two, which are calculat- 
ed to exercise the mourner with hopeless sorrow. 

The least pernicious, is the opinion that there is no 
future existence for mankind. When a person of this 
opinion loses by death any near and beloved connex- 
ion there are two grounds of sorrow. The first is the 
loss, the eternal loss of such a desirable connexion, and 
the other is the everlasting extinction of this intellect- 
ual moral being. And it is impossible that either of 
these reflections should be accompanied with the least 
ray of hope. Is it a father or a mother, a wife or a child, 
a brother or a sister, of which the mourner is bereaved? 
And was this connexion most dearly and tenderly be- 
loved ? What a gloomy thought, to believe that death 
has blotted out of existence one so tenderly and affec- 
tionately beloved, must present an impenetrable cloud 
of darkness to the mind, that forbids its making the least 
advance, repels, and drives it back on its perishable 
self, and yawns to receive the hopeless mourner to the 
abyss of nonentity. 

Enough, you say, dwell not a moment on such hor- 
ror. But what shall we say ? the other opinion, which 
denies the consolation of hope to the mourner is, that 
our future existence is worse, far worse than no exist- 
ence at all. Such are the dismal horrors of everlast- 
ing misery in the coming, eternal state, which the tra- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 325 

di lions of the church have handed down from genera- 
tion to generation, as have rendered the thoughts of 
eternity, thoughts of horror. 

Is it replied, that our traditions admit that some 
few of the human family will be happy hereafter, and 
therefore when our friends die, we may entertain a hope 
that they belong to this little favorite number ? 

We reply : an absurdity is no just ground of hope. 
If but a few of the human family are appointed unto 
salvation, it is absurd for all to hope that they belong 
to that little number. It is a circumstance that affords 
matter of much contemplation ; and one from which 
human weakness and human selfishness may be learn- 
ed, that go where you will, among whatever denomi- 
nation of people, even among those who hold the most 
illiberal sentiments, and believe that not more than one 
out of a thousand will be happy hereafter, yet if they 
lose any of their friends by death, they hope they are 
gone to rest. There are in this metropolis, no doubt, 
a very respectable number of pious people, who believe 
without a doubt, that when the Saviour said ; " many 
are called, but few are chosen," he meant that but a 
few of the whole family of mankind are elected unto 
everlasting life in the eternal world ; and yet when 
these people are visited with bereaving providences, 
and any of their connexions are taken away by death, 
they hope it is well with them hereafter. You cannot 
find one, in any possible case who will say to the 
contrary. Fathers, mothers, wives, children, brothers, 
sisters, near friends, intimate acquaintances, none of 
them will admit the doctrine of everlasting misery, in 
which they believe, to apply to each other, nor to 
themselves. And yet, according to their creed, they 
have not the least ground for the hopes which they 
entertain. 

If you ask these people what reason they have foi 
the least comfort, they will say ; we do not know 
whom God has reprobated, and therefore we do not 
know that our friends or ourselves are appointed unto 
wrath. Thus their ignorance concerning them that 
are asleep, in most of instances, according to their 
28 



326 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

creed, is the sole reason why they are not distracted 
with gloomy and black despair. 

Were this creed of limited salvation, and the doc- 
trine of the endless misery of a great part of mankind 
the truth of the divine economy, and could the vail of 
ignorance concerning them that are gone from this 
mortal state be removed, what language could possi- 
bly describe the horrors and the lamentations which 
would be the unhappy consequence of such a mani- 
festation ? 

We have heard the heart-rending moans and melt- 
ing sighs of those, whose dear connexions were toiling 
under the burden and lash of slavery. Their interjec- 
tions would seemingly move the stones to pity. What 
to these people is the sumptuous fare of the board of 
plenty ? or what to them is the bed of down ? or what 
to them are the thousands they possess ? All would 
they give could the father, child or brother, as the 
case might be, return to freedom and home. But 
compared with the dire scenes of eternal misery under 
consideration, all this is no more than the weight of a 
pebble to that of the ponderous globe. 

Do you believe this doctrine? O tell it not to the 
mourner. If you do not, and cannot believe it for 
yourselves ; if you can believe it only for others, why 
tell it to them ? Can they bear to believe it for them- 
selves and for their friends, any more than you can en- 
dure to believe it for yourselves and for those whom 
you love? 

It is worthy of notice, that as the creed under con- 
sideration requires people in general to be ignorant 
concerning them that are asleep, in order for them to 
have any hope in the days of their mourning, it is ex- 
actly the reverse of the sentiment of our text, which 
supposes that to be ignorant concerning them who are 
asleep, exposes us to sorrow without hope ; and on 
the contrary that the true knowledge concerning the 
condition of such would be a source of divine conso- 
lation. 

Let us direct our attention in the next place to as- 
certain that knowledge concerning those who have fall- 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 327 

en asleep in death, which the faithful word of divine 
inspiration affords. 

But before we proceed to notice any particular pas- 
sages, it is of importance that we begin this inquiry 
under the influence of proper motives ; and it is like- 
wise necessary that in the pursuit of our object, we 
should reason with due reference to the criterion fur- 
nished by our text. The motives which ought to in- 
duce us to this investigation should be free from the 
influence of any particular creed, from embarrassments 
arising from prepossessions for, or against any party 
opinions, and should be entirely devoted to the attain- 
ment of the truth, the promotion of the honor of God, 
and the advancement of our own rational and intellec- 
tual happiness. And if we pursue this inquiry with 
due reference to the criterion furnished by our text, we 
shall admit nothing as true which is calculated to de- 
stroy our hope concerning those who are asleep. 

The words of Solomon recorded in Ecclesiastes seem 
to be direct to our present subject, "So I turned, and 
considered ail the oppressions that are done under the 
sun ; and, behold, the tears of such as were oppressed, 
and they had no comforter ; and on the side of their 
oppresors there was power ; but they had no comfort- 
er. Wherefore I praised the dead which are already 
dead, more than the living which are yet alive." 

The three following ideas are evidently suggested by 
the passage recited : 

I. In relation to all the oppressions done under the 
sun, and in relation to all the oppressed, and all the 
oppressors, they were both equally destitute of com- 
fort. 

II. The condition of those who are dead is bet- 
ter than the condition of those who are yet alive 
And, 

III. There is no just occasion for our mourning be- 
cause our friends are dead. 

It may be proper to observe here that we do not 
mean that we have no just cause of mourning when our 
friends are taken from us, in one certain sense. We 
have reason to sorrow for the loss of their sweet and 



328 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

agreeable company on our pilgrimage of mortal life, 
but on their account, we have no just cause to mourn 
that they are dead. It is with regret, that we dismiss 
our children from the happy domestic circle, where pa- 
rental love and filial affections have been the blessing 
of both parents and children, when we have no reason 
to doubt that their departure is necessary for their fu- 
ture happiness in life, and the tear of sensibility marks 
the adieu which sanctions the separation. The house 
they leave seems lonesome to those who are left behind, 
and yet as long as it is believed by parents that it is 
best for their children to be away, they will not indulge 
a disposition to wish them back. 

The Apostle in our text, does not forbid, nor dis- 
suade his brethren from sorrow for the loss of their 
friends. But his reasoning was to prevent their sor- 
rowing without hope. And it is certain that if we 
have the same opinion concerning the dead, that Sol- 
omon expressed in the passage just recited, though we 
may feel to mourn that we are are destitute of the 
society of those we tenderly love, yet there is a con- 
solation in believing that they are better off than the 
living. 

This author, speaking in another passage of the dis- 
solution of the body, says ; " Or ever the silver cord 
be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitch- 
er be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at 
the cistern : then shall the dust return to the earth 
as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who 
gave it.'' 

What can give more rational consolation to those 
who mourn, than to realize that the spirits of their de- 
parted connexions are with God? or what thought 
can possibly contribute more to tranquilize our minds, 
and prepare us to meet our own dissolution, than a 
confident belief that we shall be with God ? To be in 
the hands of a God of infinite wisdom, power, and 
goodness ; to be disposed of according to his will, 
which is boundles goodness and mercy, is all that a 
reasonable creature can possibly desire ; and of this we 
may be safely persuaded. 



LECTURES. 329 

When the Sadducees questioned our Saviour con- 
cerning the resurrection of the dead, he said to them ; 
" But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain 
that world, and the resurrection from the dead, nei- 
ther marry nor are given in marriage ; neither can they 
die any more ; for they are equal unto the angels ; and 
are the children of God, being the children of the re- 
surrection. Now, that the dead are raised, even Mo- 
ses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the 
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God 
of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the 
living ; for all live unto him." 

By the authority of Jesus we are here certified, that 
all that die live unto God in the resurrection, and are 
the children of God, equal to angels, and can die no 
more. 

When we consider that he who thus testified was 
sent of God to " bear witness unto the truth," that 
the " spirit of the Lord God " was upon him, that the 
Lord anointed him to bind up the broken hearted, and 
to comfort all that mourn, shall we hesitate to believe 
his testimony ? There certainly is no subject concern- 
ing which the divine teacher has left us his testimony 
which is of greater moment than this. The doc- 
trine of the resurrection, which was the subject of de- 
bate between him and the Sadducees, lies at the foun- 
dation of the religion of Jesus, and we have every rea- 
son to believe that he was explicit when he refuted and 
silenced his adversaries on a question of such impor- 
tance. We may further remark, that there is not the 
least intimation that the divine teacher spake figura- 
tively or parabolically in this reply to the Sadducees ; 
but every circumstance relative to the subject which 
we have on record, goes to show that his words 
are to be understood in the most plain and obvious 
sense. 

We may now notice some passages from the wri- 
tings of the author of our text concerning them that 
are asleep, which correspond perfectly with the words 
of the divine teacher. 

To the Romans he says ; " For he that is dead is 
28* 



330 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

freed from sin." This information concerning those 
that are asteep seems extremely necessary in order to 
administer consolation to mourners. If we may make 
further use of the simile of our children's going from 
us, we may observe, that could we always know that 
they would fall into no vicious or irreligious habits, 
it would be a source of much comfort. Of this we 
are certified concerning those who have gone from this 
earthly corruptible state ; they are freed from sin. 
The temptations of the flesh will no more allure, inor- 
dinate appetites no more entice, unholy desires are 
extinct, and the spirit is with God who gave i.t. 

To the Corinthians this author says ; " For we 
know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In this 
mortal state, if our dwellings are superb and every way 
convenient, we know that we shall enjoy them but a 
little time ; but concerning them that are asleep, they 
have an house eternal in the heavens. Our earthly 
house of this tabernacle, Jet it be ever so beautiful, 
must soon crumble to dust, and all the loveliness of 
mortal flesh is but a flower for the tomb. Look we on 
our sons and daughters, and pride ourselves in their 
strength and beauty ? All is but a blossom exposed to 
the blast of the east wind. " All flesh is grass, and all 
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." 
But heavenly and eternal things are permanent. 

On the subject of a future state, and of the immor- 
tality of that constitution, St. Paul has said more in 
the 15th chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians 
than is recorded by any other writer in the scriptures. 
His first argument on the subject establishes the resur- 
rection of Christ, his second shows that, as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, and his 
third is directed to the consideration of the immortal- 
ity and glory of our future state. On these subjects 
the following is selected ; " But now is Christ risen 
from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that 
slept. For since by man came death, by man came 
also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all 



331 

die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. It is 
sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption ; it is 
sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in 
weakness, it is raised in power ; it is sown a natural 
body, it is raised a spiritual body. The first man is of 
the earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord from 
heaven. And as we have borne the image of the 
earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality. Then shall be brought 
to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed 
up in victory. 

My christian friends, if we may safely believe what 
we have quoted from Solomon, from the testimony of 
of our divine Redeemer, and from his eminent servant 
St. Paul, concerning them that are asleep, we have 
every consolation that we could reasonably require. If 
we believe that the spirit goes to God who gave it, 
that the dead are better off than the living, that all 
live unto God in the resurrection, and are equal to an- 
gels, that they die no more, that they are freed from 
sin, are raised in power, in glory, and in immortality, 
in the image of trie heavenly man, what more could we 
ask concerning our dear connexions which have gone 
before us, or what more can we require in order to 
tranquihze our minds in the hour of death? 

On the other hand, let us ask how we could enjoy 
any reasonable consolation concerning them which are 
asleep, if what we have proved from scripture be not 
believed ? 

It is true that many are earnestly contending that 
the doctrine which we have so clearly pointed out from 
the faithful word of truth, is a doctrine dangerous to 
the eternal welfare of immortal souls, and calculated 
to lead those who believe it into every kind of sin. But 
how can this be the case ? Is it supposable that a 
revelation from God would in plain terms declare that 
which is dangerous to our eternal welfare, and calcu- 
lated to lead us into sin ] This is a reflection against 
God. Will any one come forward and acknowledge 
that a belief in all this grace and goodness of God 



332 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

would lead them into sin? For instance, take this 
passage ; " He that is dead is freed from sin." Sup- 
pose a person believes this divine truth, would this be- 
lief induce him to sin now ? St. Paul, no doubt be- 
lieved it ; did it lead him into sin ? Suppose the fol- 
lowing case. One of you, my hearers, have unhappily 
imbibed a strong antipathy, even to hatred, against 
your neighbor ; a friend of yours comes to you and 
tells you he has something of importance to communi- 
cate to you. You accommodate him with a conve- 
nient opportunity, and he says, I have come to tell 
you that in one week from now, you and your neigh- 
bor, whom you now so much dislike, will be on terms 
of perfect amity and peace, he has always been your 
friend and will certainly convince you, that in room 
of ever having injured you, he has been the means of 
all your prosperities. Suppose; you believe this state- 
ment, would your belief lead you to hate your neigh- 
bor more than ever? No, it would have a directly 
contrary effect ; you would love him the moment you 
believed it, and would long for the time to come that 
you might embrace him. 

When Samuel told Saul that he should meet a com- 
pany of prophets, and that the spirit of the Lord would 
'Dome upon him, that he should be turned to another 
man, and prophecy with the prophets, this did not 
lead the young man into sin. Did the whole of this 
assembly really believe, that in a short time they should 
be in a state of immortal holiness and felicity, filled 
with the love of their heavenly Father, and employed 
in songs of everlasting praise to God and the lamb, 
such a belief, my friends, would now work by love and 
purify our hearts. 

But the wisdom of this world has contrived a differ- 
ent way to make men love God, which is by threaten- 
ing them with his everlasting displeasure. It has in- 
vented the most horrible reports and representations 
that imagination can possibly reach, concerning them 
that are asleep, by which sorrow is augmented to de- 
spair. Sermons full of the terror of eternal misery, 
and the representations of the dismal state of the dead 



333 

are delivered to enhance the sorrows of the bereaved. 
Little tracts are sent to people gratis, to inform them 
that the probability is, that their friends, who have left 
this world are in a state of torment. It is impossible, 
on considering such inventions and practices, not to 
think of the torn, the bloody coat presented to Jacob, 
accompanied with these words; " This have we found ; 
know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." How 
many bereaved, afflicted mothers have read these tracts, 
and almost desparingly exclaimed, " It is my son's 
coat," without doubt my departed child is miserable. 

Never did our blessed Saviour manifest such a spirit, 
never did he inculcate such doctrine. He who wept 
by the tomb of Lazarus, in sympathy with mourning 
sisters, who declared himself the resurrection and the 
life, hath brought life and immortality to light through 
the gospel. His doctrine is full of consolation, it is 
full of that hope which is an anchor of the soul, sure 
and steadfast, entering into that within the vail, where 
our forerunner hath for us entered. 

My friends, while looking round on perishable na- 
ture, while contemplating the loss of our dear connex- 
ions who have gone from this mortal state, let us " lay 
hold on this hope which is set before us," that we may 
not sorrow concerning them which are asleep, even as 
those who have no hope. But let us, with confidence 
in God our Father, and in Christ our Saviour, sing y 
with solemn joy in the words of Dr. Watts ; 

" Why do we mourn departing friends 
Or shake at death's alarms 1 
'Tis but the voice that Jesus semis 
, To call them to his arms. 



LECTURE XXIV 



il THE RESURRECTION OF LIFE;" AND " THE RESUR- 



JOHN v. 28, 29. 

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the 
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, 
unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the resurrec- 
tion of damnation. 

Though I have once spoken on these words in this 
place, and likewise been induced to explain them in a 
controversy that was published, it is still requested by 
some of the readers of these lectures that this passage 
should be noticed before the volume is completed. 
And as the common use of this text is in opposition to 
the doctrine set forth in these sermons, and especial- 
ly to the use we made of the scriptures in our last, it 
is thought necessary that a discourse on this subject 
should be placed next in order. 

This passage is one of a number which the popular 
doctrine of the church has applied to a future state of 
condemnation and misery. It has been used to set 
forth and maintain that those who do good in this 
world will be raised from the dead hereafter and be 
justified unto life in an immortal constitution, for the 
good works which they did in this world ; and that 
those who do evil in this mortal state will be raised, at 
the same time, into an immortal constitution, and con- 
demned to everlasting misery for the evil they did in 
this mortal constitution. 

In the first place we shall suggest some arguments 
against the doctrine, for the support of which this text 
has been used. 

In this doctrine there is a manifest want of that due 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 335 

connexion between cause and effect, which is so won- 
derfully displayed in the natural order of things. 
While we are here in the body, if we feed on whole- 
some and nourishing food the natural effects are 
strength and health of body; but if we, from whatev- 
er cause, feed on that which is unwholesome or poison- 
ous, the consequences are the reverse of the former, 
and sickness and weakness are sure to follow. But it 
would be evidently absurd to attempt to argue, on 
physical principles, that these effects,, either health or 
sickness, strength or weakness will be experienced in 
a state of immortality after this corruptible shall have 
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality. Now it is plain from the scriptures, that 
all sin, all wickedness, and all evil doings are the 
works of the flesh ; and there appears no more reason 
for supposing that the effects of these works are to ex- 
tend into the immortal state, than for supposing that 
the effects of wholesome or unwholesome food are to 
extend to that state. 

If one sow grain in a field in New-England, it fol- 
lows of natural consequence that the harvest will be 
gathered from the same field ; but there appears no 
natural connexion, as between cause and effect, be- 
tween sowing grain in this country and gathering a 
harvest from it in Europe. St. Paul says ; " He that 
soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption." 
This seems perfectly natural, because " whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap." But to argue 
that corruption may be gathered from an incorrutible 
state is to argue against the very nature of things. 

The apostle to the Romans is explicit on this sub- 
ject, where he says ; " There is, therefore, now no 
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who 
walk not after the flesh but after the spirit." 

By this it is evident that condemnation cannot exist 
any longer than men walk after the flesh. But none 
pretend that any of the human family will walk after 
the flesh in that incorruptible state of which the apos- 
tle speaks, where he says ; " This corruptible shall put 



336 

on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on im- 
mortality." 

We can easily discern the natural connexion be- 
tween all the vices which are practised by men, and 
the infelicities which these vices introduce into society, 
and the un happiness they occasion to those who 
practise them ; but it is totally impossible to trace the 
connexion between these vices and a state of perma- 
nent misery in an immortal staK. 

Secondly; as this opinion of a state of immortal hap- 
piness for the good works of men in this life, and a 
state of endless misery for their evil works while here 
is supposed to fall under the notice of those scriptures 
which teach us that God will render to every man ac- 
cording to his works, it seems proper that we look to 
see if we can find such a proportion between the vir- 
tues which are practised in this life and a state of im- 
mortal felicity, and between the vices committed here 
and a state of endless torment as will justify this doc- 
trine. The moment this inquiry is proposed the ab- 
surdity of the doctrine appears ; for there is a much 
nearer proportion between the labor of one hour and 
the wealth of the whole world as its reward, than can be 
seen between all the good works which a man could per- 
form during a long life, and a recompense of an im- 
mortal state of complete happiness. Nor is there so 
great a proportion between all the sins which one could 
possibly commit in this life and the recompense of a 
state of endless misery, as between the smallest offence 
ever committed on earth and a retaliation of the most 
severe and protracted tortures which could be inflicted 
in this mortal state. These statements are self-evident 
facts, which we know to be true as well as we know 
that a day is not as long as a year, or that one grain is 
not equal to a ton weight. 

According to the scriptures, we are authorised to be- 
lieve, that the blessings of the gospel in this life are far 
too great to be considered as being according to our 
works. St. Paul says ; " Who hath saved us, and 
called us with an holy calling, not according to our 
works, but according to his own purpose and grace 



337 

which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world 
began." Again the same author says; " Not by works 
of righteousness which we have done, but according to 
his mercy he saved us." Now if the salvation obtain- 
ed in this life by the grace of God is too great to be 
considered according to our works, there surely is not 
the shadow of propriety in supposing that a state of 
permanent felicity in the eternal world is according to 
our works in this. But the proportion between our 
good works in this world and a state of endless happi- 
ness in the next is as near as between our sins here and 
a state of endless misery hereafter. 

Thirdly ; this doctrine of endless rewards and pun- 
ishments is involved in an insuperable difficulty for the 
want of the power to distinguish between the meet sub- 
jects for these respective rewards. 

What will this doctrine do, for instance, with David, 
king of Israel ? That he did evil, and that to a most 
heinous degree is evident from the faithful records of 
scripture. Now if they who in this life have done evil 
are to be raised into an immortal state of misery, Da- 
vid, king of Israel, will be thus raised to condemna 
tion. Will it be said that David became a good man, 
and did many good things after he committed the 
abominations which are recorded of him ? This we 
are happy to acknowledge ; but what does this prove, 
only that David was like other men, and and some- 
times did that which was right and sometimes that 
which was wrong ? For another instance, where will 
the doctrine under consideration place St. Paul in the 
eternal state ? That he did evil in this world the scrip- 
tures as fully prove as they prove any thing. But it will 
be said that this man ivas reformed and became a good 
man ; this too we are happy to acknowledge, but. what 
more does this prove than that St. Paul was like Da- 
vid, and like other men, a changeable creature ! who 
sometimes did right, at other times wrong ? The fact 
is, as was fully shown in our lecture on the recom- 
pensing of the righteous and the wicked in the earth, 
all men are in some degree righteous and in some de- 
gree wicked. And it follows that if all that do good 
29 



338 

in this world are to be eternally happy hereafter, all 
mankind will be happy ; and on the other hand, if all 
who do evil in this life are to be endlessly miserable 
in the next, all men will be thus miserable ! 

Fourthly ; the doctrine under consideration is absurd 
in that it supposes that the good works and virtues 
of men in this imperfect state are more meritorious 
than the perfect and permanent virtue which will char- 
acterize the blessed in heaven ; for if that immortal 
state of holiness and felicity is merited by the virtue 
imperfectly practised in this mortal state, there remains 
no merit in the virtues practised in the future world, 
nor any reward for that superior degree of righteous- 
ness. And on the other hand, this doctrine involves 
another absurdity, in that it recompenses the sins of 
this life with a state of endless and positive misery, 
but reserves no punishment for the sins of which the 
souls of the miserable will be guilty in that state where 
they will sin without restraint. Why should imper- 
fect righteousness merit an eternity of happiness, and 
yet perfect righteousness merit nothing? Why should 
the sins of this life be recompensed with a state of 
everlasting or eternal misery, and the entire sin of the 
eternal world go forever unpunished ? 

Once more; this doctrine maintains that God will 
punish his rational offspring without mercy, without 
designing their reconciliation or profit. This, of all 
the objections which we have to the doctrine under 
consideration is the greatest. This supposes that God 
possesses a worse disposition, and practises greater cruel- 
ty than the wicked possessor practice. All the cruelties 
of heathen idolatry are tender mercies, in comparison 
with the cruelty attributed to our heavenly Father by 
this doctrine. People are deceived by the names which 
superstition uses to identify this cruelty in God, but 
the name of a thins alters not its nature. Vindictive 
wrath, holy anger, retributive justice, are terms used to 
designate a property of the divine nature which, when 
examined impartially, and without a superstitious awe, 
is found to be worthy of no better name than unmer- 
ciful malevolence ! To attribute such a quality or char- 



339 

acter to God, we view as the vilest act that moral 
darkness has ever produced ; and we reject the senti- 
ment with the deepest horror. 

Let it be distinctly noticed here, that this argument 
does not lie between the doctrine of endless punish- 
ment, and no punishment for sin; we have all along 
in these lectures maintained that sin is punished, but 
we find that it is punished in the world where it is, 
and not in an immortal state where it is not. 

Having, as was proposed, suggested a few argu- 
ments against the doctrine for the support of which 
our text has been generally used, our next labor will 
be directed to bring the portion of scripture under con- 
sideration before the hearer in connexion with such 
other passages as relate to events which evidently be- 
long to the present state of existence, but where lan- 
guage signifying a resurrection is used ; at the same 
time carefully comparing with them those passages 
which evidently relate to a resurrection into an immor- 
tal state, that it may be clearly understood that the 
latter and former classes of scripture cannot, with any 
propriety, be applied to the same event. 

The arguments to which we have attended in this 
discourse, are designed to show that the text under 
consideration ought not to be applied in the usual way, 
by showing that the doctrine supported by it when so 
used is not true. The arguments now designed will 
go to show that the scriptures make use of words sig- 
nifying a resurrection, in a figurative sense, when noth- 
ing beyond this mortal state is intended, that the pas- 
sage under consideration is of this description ; and 
that it is proved to be so by comparing it with other 
passages which evidently have their application in time, 
and also by comparing it with passages which speak of 
a resurrection into an immortal state, by observing the 
difference there is between the two classes. 

That our text evidently belongs to that class of 
scriptures which speak of a spiritual resurrection, or of 
a resurrection which has no allusion to a future state 
of being may be seen by attending to the context, 
which reads as follows ; " Verily, verily, I say unto 



340 

you. he that heareth my word, and belie veth on him 
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come 
into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." 
Here it is perfectly plain that the death from which 
the believers had passed was of a moral, and not a lit- 
eral kind ; and it is perfectly plain also that the life in- 
to which they had already entered was of a spiritual 
nature, which believers enjoy by the means of believ- 
ing in the word of Jesus in the present tense. And it 
is furthermore evident that the condemnation mention- 
ed in the passage already quoted is a condemnation 
which is the consequence of unbelief in the present 
life, and is the same as is signified by the following 
words of Jesus : " He that believeth not is condemn- 
ed already." The next words to those quoted from 
our context are the following : " Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the 
dead shall hear the voice of the son of God, and they 
that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in 
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in 
himself, and hath given him authority to execute judg- 
ment also, because he is the Son of man." It is abun- 
dantly evident that the Saviour still continued to speak 
of the dead in trespasses and sins, of their hearing and 
believing his word, and of the spiritual life which faith 
in the gospel wrought in them. And it is also evident 
that his authority, which he here mentions, to execute 
judgment, administers that condemnation into which 
the unbeliever is brought. 

Our text follows the words last quoted ; "Marvel 
not at this ; for the hour is coming, in the which, all 
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall 
come forth ; they that have done good unto the resur- 
rection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the 
resurrection of damnation." Now as it is acknowledg- 
ed by all that Jesus was speaking figuratively in the 
context, until he came to the words of our text, it 
seems entirely unwarranted to make him now, all of 
a sudden, speak of a literal resurrection. It is alto- 
gether more reasonable to suppose, that as he meant 
the dead in a moral or spiritual sense, by the dead who 



341 

should hear his voice and live, he now means the car- 
nal state of carnal minds by the graves from which the 
dead were to come forth. 

That the word graves is used figuratively in scrip- 
ture we learn from the 37th of Ezekiel, where the 
prophet represents the return of the captivity of Israel 
from the countries where they had been scattered, first 
by the resurrection of the dry bones in the valley of 
vision, — and secondly, by bringing them out of their 
graves. And here we may remark, that there would 
be the same propriety in understanding the prophet to 
mean a figurative resurrection by the dry bones repre- 
senting the return of Israel's captivity ; but when he 
speaks of bringing them out of their graves, to mean 
their resurrection from their literal graves into an im- 
mortal state, as there is in explaining our text and con- 
text in the usual way. 

There is a passage in the 12th of Daniel, which 
commentators very justly consider a parallel passage 
with our text ; it reads as follows: " And at that time 
shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stand- 
eth for the children of thy people ; and there shall be 
a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a 
nation even to that same time : and at that time thy 
people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found 
written in the book. And many of them that sleep in 
the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting 
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." It 
seems reasonable to suppose, that as Jesus came to ful- 
fil the law and the prophets, he had his eye on this 
passage in Daniel when he spake the words of our 
text ; and that he meant by those who were in the 
graves the same as Daniel meant by those who were 
asleep in the dust of the earth; and by those, who 
should come forth to the resurrection of life, he meant 
the same as Daniel did by those who should awake 
from the dust of the earth to everlasting life ; and by 
those who should come forth to the resurrection of 
condemnation, the same as Daniel meant by those, 
who should come forth unto shame and everlasting 
contempt. 



342 

Will the hearer now say that all this may be, and 
that both Daniel and the Saviour were speaking of the 
resurrection of mankind to a state of immortal happi- 
ness and misery in a future world ? To this we reply, 
when Jesus spoke to his disciples of the destruction of 
Jerusalem, and of the calamities which should shortly 
come on the Jews, he uses the words of Daniel nearly 
verbatim when he speaks of the time of trouble. By 
this circumstance we are instructed that both Daniel 
and the Saviour spake of the same time, and of the 
same events, and that that time was when Jerusalem 
was destroyed by the Romans. 

The true meaning of the words of Jesus and of the 
passage in Daniel appears to be this : those Jews who 
listened to the mild voice of the gospel, proclaimed by 
Christ and his Apostles, came forth from spiritual death 
to the life of faith in the new covenant ; but those 
Jews, who rejected the doctrine of salvation, crucified 
the Saviour, and persecuted his apostles, were those 
who had done evil, and they were roused from the 
dormant state in which they lay, as in a covenant of 
death and a refuge of lies, by the voice of judgment, 
and come forth to the resurrection of that condemna- 
tion which is so particularly pointed out in the 24th 
and 25th chapters of Matthew ; and which was illus- 
trated in our lecture on that subject. 

That the resurrection under consideration is not a 
resurrection from this mortal to an immortal state, may 
be made to appear by comparing the account of it with 
the account given of the resurrection into a state of 
immortality, which we find in several passages, and 
which were noticed in our last lecture. 

In the account of the resurrection noticed in our 
text, some are raised to life and some to condemna- 
tion ; and this account we have seen agrees so well 
with the testimony quoted «from Daniel, that no doubt 
remains that the Saviour and the prophet spake of the 
same event. But can we make St. Paul's account of 
the resurrection of all mankind into an immortal state 
agree with these several testimonies so as to be satisfied 



343 

that the apostle was treating on the same subject of 
which Daniel and the Saviour treated ? 

Jesus says : that they that have done good shall 
come forth to the resurrection of life, and they that 
have done evil to the resurrection of damnation. Dan- 
iel says : " And many of them that sleep in the dust 
of the earth shall come forth, some to everlasting life, 
and some to shame and everlasting contempt." St. 
Paul says ; " As in Adam all die even so in Christ 
shall all be made alive." And he is particular in stat- 
ing the constitution which all men will receive in the 
resurrection of which he speaks. It is spiritual, incor- 
ruptible, immortal, and glorious, it is the image of the 
Lord from heaven. He makes no distinction. He 
says nothing of the good works of some and the evil 
works of others. His testimony is, in fact, directly 
against any distinction or difference in that immortal 
state. All are made alive in Christ ; and as this life is 
spiritual, incorruptible and immortal, this testimony 
agrees with the testimony of Jesus to the Sadducees 
on the same subject of the resurrection, in which he 
says, that in the resurrection they are the children of 
God, equal unto the angels, and can die no more. 

In his debate with the Sadducees, Jesus gave no in- 
timation that any would rise from the dead to a state 
of condemnation, but was particular in saying that all 
live unto God. 

In our present light of this subject, we can plainly 
see, that by supposing that Jesus spake in our text of 
the same subject of which he spake in his reply to the 
Sadducees, we make him contradict himself. And by 
supposing that our text is a testimony of the same event 
of which St. Paul spake in his argument on the resur- 
rection in the 15th of the first of Corinthians, we set 
the testimony of Jesus and St. Paul at an irreconcila- 
ble variance. 

Our present subject may be represented by suppos- 
ing, that a traveller returns to this town from the state 
of Vermont, and informs us that in consequence of a 
disturbance among the convicts in the State prison, 
the prisoners were all brought out under sufficient 



344 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

guards, to be examined and tried for their conduct, 
This trial, our traveller informs us, finally terminated 
in the solitary confinement of a large number of the 
leaders of the disturbance, but in the liberation from 
prison of many who were found to be meritorious in 
their conduct in endeavoring to suppress and prevent 
the wicked designs of the others. 

This traveller being a man of respectable standing 
in society, and of undoubted reputation, no one is dis- 
posed to doubt the truth of the testimony which he 
he has given on this subject. Not long after having 
this information in the way here related, our traveller 
returns from a tour through New Hampshire, and in- 
forms us that the new governor in that state has seen 
cause to set all the prisoners in the state at liberty, 
and that he was an eye witness of the fact. For want 
of proper caution some of us now confound the two 
reports, and think that these several relations are con 
cerning what took place relative to the prisoners in 
Vermont. 

In this way we should make the testimony of our 
traveller destroy itself and the veracity of its author. 
And yet his whole testimony in both cases, when un- 
derstood according to the different subjects related, 
and the proper distinctions preserved according to the 
plainest sense of the several accounts given, all ap- 
pears clear and without the least contradiction. 

By applying, in an indiscriminate manner, those pas- 
sages of scripture which specially belong to the tem- 
poral, mutable state of man in this life, and those 
which speak of an immortal state, all to the future ex- 
istence of mankind, the greatest absurdities have been 
supported by the scriptures. In the same way the 
dispute between those who contend for salvation by 
the agency of the creature, and those who maintain 
that works are out of the question relative to salvation 
has been protracted for ages in the christian church. 
And yet if the passages of scripture, which are quoted 
on both sides of the argument were applied to their re- 
spective subjects there would be no room for dispute 
or occasion for any difference of sentim nt. 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 345 

For instance, the account we have of the judgment 
iin the 25th of Matthew proceeds according to the 
works of those who are judged ; and those who are 
welcome to the kingdom, are justified according to 
their works, and those who are sentenced to punish- 
ment are so condemned according to their conduct. 
Now as this passage is applied to the eternal state of 
the unseen world by both parties in the dispute just 
named, those who rest the final justification of the 
creature on his works seem to have a decided advan- 
tage in the dispute. And it is all in vain for the op- 
poser to try to reconcile this passage with his notion of 
justifying the creature to everlasting life in the eternal 
world without any reference to his good works in this 
world. This he will not attempt to do : but in order 
to do away the force of this judgment, he quotes some 
passages which speak of grace to the exclusion of 
works ; such as the following ; " Who hath saved us 
and called us with an holy calling, not according to 
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. 
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 
but according to his mercy he saved us. By grace are 
ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it 
is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should 
boast. Now to him that worketh the reward is not 
reckoned of grace but of debt ; but to him that work- 
eth not but belie veth on him who justifieth the ungod- 
ly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness." 
As it is perfectly evident that these passages, on the 
very face of them, were designed to set fonh the grace 
and salvation of God in a way to exclude the works of 
the saved as the ground of such salvation, the argu- 
ment now fairly turns in favor of the other side ; 
for here are more passages than the one brought in fa- 
vor of the contrary side. 

What is the next thing to be done? Does he who 
predicates salvation on works undertake to show that 
the passages last quoted do not indicate the fact for 
which they are adduced ? No, for this would be la- 
bor lost : it would be as easy to prove that these pas- 
sages mean nothing. What then does he do? He 



346 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

proceeds to quote some more scripture on the other 
side, such as the following ; " The willing and obedi- 
ent shall eat the good of the land, but if ye rebel ye 
shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the 
Lord hath spoken it. The soul that sinneth, it shall 
die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, 
neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son ; 
the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, 
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him ; 
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Wo unto 
the wicked ! it shall be ill with him ; for the reward 
of his hands shall be given him. For the son of man 
shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, 
and then he shall reward every man according to his 
works. For we must all appear before the judgment 
seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things 
done in his body, according to that he hath done, 
whether it be good, or bad." As it is perfectly evi- 
dent that these last quoted passages do not indicate 
that men are justified without good works, but in con- 
sequence of them, the dispute stands exactly as it did 
when it began, and where it must stand until these 
disputants come to a determination to understand par- 
ticular passages of the scriptures according to the par- 
ticular subjects to which they respectively belong. 

All those passages, which speak of judging and re- 
warding men according to their works have their true 
and just application to that divine economy in which 
our heavenly Father administers to his moral offspring 
that discipline which grows from his love and faithful- 
ness and which our imperfection requires. 

On the other hand, all those passages which speak 
of the abundant grace of God, of his great love to sin- 
ners, of his saving us, not according to our works, but 
according to his own purpose and grace, which was 
given unto us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 
have their true and just application to that- divinely 
gracious economy of the Father of our spirits, in which 
he has made ample provisions for the spiritual and 
eternal welfare of all mankind. And if we are careful 



BALLOu's LECTURES. 347 

to keep the different subjects of which the scriptures 
treat, as distinct from each other as the divine testimo- 
ny requires, we shall never apply the passage under 
consideration to the immortal state of man, nor is it 
believed by your servant, that any other passage can 
be found, which speaks of rewarding men for their 
good works, and of punishing others for evil works, 
which can, with the least color of propriety be applied 
to the state of man when this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, and this corruptible incorruption. 

To pretend that it is not convenient or proper for 
men to be rewarded in this world according to their 
works here, is more absurd than it would be to argue, 
that it is not convenient or proper for children to re- 
ceive rewards of merit, and chastisements for disobe- 
dience at the school where they receive their educa- 
tion. And to contend that all the good works, and 
all the evil works done in this mortal state are to be 
judged and recompensed in the eternal world, is a 
thousand times more unreasonable than it would be 
for a parent of vast wealth to go to the school mas- 
ter who educated his children and get a particular ac- 
count of every thing his children did while at school, 
and then proceed to make his last will and testament 
according to that account. 

To conclude, while our text assures us, that good 
works will never go unrewarded, nor evil works unre- 
compensed, it by no means intrudes on the eternal in- 
heritance given us in Christ Jesus before the world be- 
gan ; nor does it in any way contradict the testimony, 
that " as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive." 



LECTURE XXV 

> JUDGMEMTS ISSUE 
ZEPHANIAH, III. 17. 

He will rest in his love. 

In this short book of the prophecy of Zephaniah 
there is much said on the subject of the sins of various 
nations, and of the sore punishments which the divine 
ruler had seen fit to execute upon them for their cor- 
rection, and as an admonition to his chosen people, 
the Jews. 

The design of the judgments of God is most clearly 
expressed in the following, recorded in our context : 
" Therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until 
the day that I shall rise up to the prey ; for my deter- 
mination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble 
the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, 
even all my fierce anger ; for all the earth shall be de- 
voured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I 
turn to the people a pure language, that they may all 
call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with 
one consent." 

The account here given by the prophet, concerning 
the indignation and fierce anger of the Lord, is of a 
very different nature from the account of the same 
subject, which is current in our times. The divine 
indignation or anger according to our christian doc- 
tors, is totally unmerciful ; and those on whom it is 
fully and completely executed, no more than begin to 
feel its horrors in this world, but are duly prepared by 
an astonishing miracle, to endure the fierceness of its 
burning forever in the eternal world. In the days of 
divine inspiration and prophecy, when men " spake as 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 349 

they were moved by the Holy Ghost," no such horri- 
ble sentiments were held up to the people. Then the 
desolation of cities, the captivity of their inhabitants, 
plagues, famines, and pestilences were among the usual 
denunciations of the judgments of God ; but now, 
nothing that can be suffered in this world seems to 
answer the purpose ; and our wise men pretend to 
know the particulars of the eternal world much better 
than of this, and speak of the horrors of future condem- 
nation, and of the indignation of the Lord in that state, 
without the smallest hesitation. Whether they are 
correct, or the inspired prophets, we are at liberty to 
judge for ourselves. It is a plain fact that their ac- 
counts differ, and that as widely as day from night. 

According to the prophet in the passage just cited, 
the indignation, even all the fierce anger of the Lord 
is poured out on the whole earth. Nothing is said of 
reserving any for a future state. And what is worthy 
of special notice is, after all this fierce anger of the 
Lord is poured out on the people, and the whole earth 
is devoured with the fire of his jealousy, God says, 
" then will I turn to the people a pure language, that 
they may all call upon the name of the Lord, ancl 
serve him with one consent." So that the very same 
people who suffer all God's fierce anger, are thereby 
prepared to learn a pure language in which they shall 
all call on the name of the Lord, with dispositions and 
hearts to serve him. 

As consequences resulting to the house of Israel, 
from the execution of the divine indignation, the fol- 
lowing is recorded by the prophet ; " In that day shalt 
thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou 
hast transgressed against me ; for then I will take 
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy 
pride ; and thou shalt no more be haughty because of 
my holy mountain. The remnant of Israel shall not 
do iniquity, nor speak lies ; neither shall a deceitful 
tongue be found in their mouth : for they shall feed and 
lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O 
daughter of Zion ; shout, O Israel ; be glad and re- 
joice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 
30 



350 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath 
cast out thine enemy ; the King of Israel, even the 
Lord, is in the midst of thee : thou shall not see evil 
any more. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is 
mighty ; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with 
joy ; he will rest in his love ; he will joy over thee with 
sinking." 

In this most interesting representation we are led to 
contemplate the happy issue of the judgments of God, 
even all his fierce anger, in the salvation of his people, 
in their rest and joy. Even God himself is represent- 
ed as rejoicing over them with joy, and as finding rest 
in his love toward them. 

In order that one may rest in love the following par- 
ticulars seem to be necessary. 

I. Love must be holy and all its desires righteous. 
And, 

II. The desires of love must all be accomplished in 
their fullest extent. 

To a moral being an unholy love and unlawful de- 
sires are a source of inquietude, and the more such 
love and desires are indulged the greater is the infe- 
licity occasioned by them. But the contrary is the 
effect of a holy love and of righteous and lawful de- 
sires. The more they are indulged the greater is the 
satisfaction, and the more perfect that rest which re- 
sults from such indulgence. The love of our heaven- 
ly Father toward his offspring is a holy love, and all its 
desires are lawful and right. It is the holiness of love and 
the lawfulness of its desires which justifies all the means 
which are necessary to carry these desires into effect. 

This subject may be represented by the love of pa- 
rents toward their children. The parental love is law- 
ful and all its desires are righteous. It looks on chil- 
dren with strong desires for their improvement and 
happiness. If they are disobedient, love desires their 
reformation ; and it is the purity of this love and the 
righteousness of its desires that justify those rebukes, 
warnings, and chastisements which are necessary for 
the bringing of the disobedient to submit to those 
wholesome precepts which are alone designed for their 
benefit. Take awav this parental love, and remove 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 351 

the desire of doing good to the disobedient child, and 
every rebuke, every admonition, and every punishment 
inflicted, would be as destitute of righteousness, as the 
heart of the parent is of love. But where this holy 
love and these pure desires are in exercise, they fully 
justify the greatest severity which may be necessary 
for the good of the disobedient. And here let us cau- 
tiously observe, that the parent never finds rest until 
all that love desires is accomplished. While stubborn- 
ness and disobedience remain in the child, and during 
the administration of chastisement, the parent has no 
rest. Anxiety, pity, grief, love and tender affections 
mingle in the feeling heart with indignation, severity and 
faithfulness ; but when this stubbornness is subdued, and 
the disobedient heart brought to submit, how calm, 
how quiet is the rest which the parent finds in that 
victorious love, which has now conquered all opposition, 
and carried into effect its utmost desires. If the parent 
could find rest in the administration of punishment, 
then, in order to continue this rest, the punishment 
would be protracted ; but rest is taken after the labor 
is done, and the longer the labor continues, the longer 
rest is deferred. 

To apply our metaphor, we may observe, that God's 
love toward mankind is a holy love, and all the desires 
of that love are righteous. The holiness of his love, 
and the righteousness of its desires sanctify his sever- 
est judgments and direct them all to the accomplish- 
ment of the desires of love. 

The figure of expression used in our text is very 
strong ; it seems to represent the divine Being as being 
in want of rest from the exercise of his severity and 
indignation, and as finding that rest in his love toward 
those whom he had chastised, by pouring on them all 
his fierce anger, which terminated in their subjection 
to his will. But the scriptures, without intending to 
represent the Almighty as being changeable, use such 
metaphors for the purpose of conveying an idea of 
the ultimate design and goodness of God, in all his 
works. 

Where we have an account of the creation of all 



352 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

things, we are informed that God proceeded with his 
work day after day for six days, and when he had end- 
ed his work, he rested on the seventh. But here let 
us remark, that he rested in his love, for he was able, 
after taking a perfect survey of all his works, to pro- 
nounce the whole " very good." If there had been 
any part of the creation which would not answer the 
purpose for which it was made, God would not have 
pronounced it good, nor could he have loved that 
which was not good, nor could he have rested in his 
love. 

Man was the last work which the divine Creator 
performed, and man he made in his own image. Man 
he styles his offspring, he calls himself our Father, and 
he directs his providence and grace in a way to provide 
for us, and to bring us to the enjoyment of himself. 

When man had sinned, and God came to him in 
the cool of the day, he pronounced his judgments with 
such limitations as to manifest his purpose in the final 
deliverance of his sinful children from the power of the 
tempter by the seed of the woman who should bruise 
his head. Thus we see that God rests no where but 
in his love. 

Had the Creator., on this occasion, denounced on 
man the malediction of never-ending misery, according 
to the doctrine of our catechism ; and had it been his 
pleasure to inform them, as the writers of our creeds 
have informed us, that by this first transgression the 
whole posterity of Adam and Eve had become liable 
to the pains of hell forever, we could hardly find how 
to reconcile this doctrine with the idea that our heav- 
enly Father rests no where but in his love. 

It may be profitable in this place, though it be pain- 
ful, to spend a few reflections on the resting-place, 
which the wisdom of this world has invented for the 
Father of our spirits. This invention, in order to ac- 
commodate our heavenly Father with the most perfect 
and quiet rest, has assigned a great part of his rational 
offspring to the most exquisite torments which improv- 
ed imagination has been able to suggest, and has as- 
signed the execution of this torture to him ! That pa 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 353 

rents may not only see this subject, but feel a little by 
having it represented in subordination to our under- 
standing, we may suppose a similar invention for the 
accommodation of the parent of a numerous family, 
to give him the most perfect rest. Thus three quar- 
ters of his children are to suffer the most exquisite 
torments which human invention can devise ; and to 
have this torture so administered as to be protracted 
for a long time, and the parent himself must execute 
this punishment! 

Parents, would you call this a bed of roses ? Do 
you wish to repose your weary limbs, after carefully 
nursing and bringing up children, on such down as 
this ? Disgusted, you reply, why do you torture our 
feelings and greet our ears with such unnatural 
similes? 

We deserve to have our feelings harrowed with 
these thorns, with these briars and thistles, for we have 
spread them out by our wicked inventions for our 
merciful and compassionate Father in heaven to rest 
himself on to all eternity ! The creeds of the chris- 
tian church now contain the invention under consid- 
eration ; our preachers dwell upon it, and on its differ- 
ent parts, with an earnestness by which they evince 
their zeal for God ; and professors patiently hear this 
doctrine proclaimed, and pronounce it wholesome or- 
thodoxy. As long as this remains to be the case, a 
hope is entertained that people in one way or another, 
will be made to hear their doctrine applied in a way to 
make them feel its effects. 

However men may err in their inventions, however 
they may attribute the worst of designs to God, he is 
of one mind and none can turn him. The love in 
which he rested on the seventh day, after he had cre- 
ated all things, is the same love which he manifested 
after man had sinned. This is the love which he has 
had in view in the administration of all his judgments, 
and the same which he has manifested through Jesus 
for the salvation of mankind from sin and death. The 
hearer will recollect that we have said that in order for 
one to rest in love, all that love desires must be ac- 
30* 



354 

complished. This idea is within your easy comprehen- 
sion. If one has a desired object, an object of the most 
affectionate regard in view, but great difficulties and 
dangers lie in the way of obtaining this object, you 
know that this condition is by no means calculated to 
give rest. But if the difficulties become surmounted, 
and the dangers removed, and the longed for object 
finally obtained, the successful soul finds rest in love. 
Thus Joseph the persecuted brother, tenderly loved 
his brethren, suffered many things for their profit, 
overcome all embarrassments and finally received them 
all under his safe protection and found a calm, a sweet 
repose in his love. To prove them, to try them, for a 
season he treated them roughly, and with severity. 
He accused them of being spies, come to see the na 
kednessofthe land. He kept Simeon bound while 
he sent the rest to their families. He directed the sil- 
ver cup to be deposited in Benjamin's sack, he gave 
orders for his arrest, and greatly tried the hearts of 
those who had sold him ; but during all this time Jo- 
seph did not rest in this manifestation of anger How 
often did he weep alone with love, pity, and grief for 
his brethren ; but when he had humbled them enough 
and made himself known to them, embraced them all 
;md granted them forgiveness, he rested in his love. 
Had he failed in his heart's desire of seeing all his 
brethren duly humbled, and had two thirds of the 
whole utterly refused to acknowledge their faults, or 
submit themselves to him, we may reasonably suppose, 
that he would not have enjoyed that rest in his love 
which he did when he fed them all at his own table. 

Let the mind pass from this circumstance to the 
consideration of the love of God to mankind and to 
consider the extent of mercy's design as manifested 
through Jesus. The following passages relate to this 
subject. " For God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, 
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God 
sent not his son into the world to condemn the world ; 
but that the world through him might be saved. But 
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 355 

we were yet enemies, Christ died for us. Herein is 
love, not that we loved God, but that he lovad us, and 
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We 
have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son 
to be the Saviour of the world." By these passages 
we learn that the grand design of the Father's love in 
sending the son into the world was to save the world, 
and this design must be fully accomplished in order for 
the Father to rest in his love. My friends, you know 
that love which desires that which we can never ob- 
tain, in room of affording us rest, gives us uneasiness. 
Now if the design or desire of the Father's love is the 
salvation of the world, how can he ever find rest in 
his love if this desire is never accomplished ? But he 
worketh all things afler the council of his own will. 
His judgments and his mercies will be employed and 
well directed to their object, until the vast design of 
love is completed in the reconciliation of all things to 
God, who will forever rest in his love. Thus are the 
judgments of God explained in the song of Moses the 
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. " Great 
and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; 
just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints. Who 
shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ? 
for thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and 
worship before thee ; for thy judgments are made 
manifest." 

The divine economy in the moral system may be 
represented by a bountiful and benevolent providence, 
by which our temporal wants are satisfied. Winter, 
in which appears no promise of bread in future, spring, 
in which promises but just make their appearance, 
and summer full of labor and toil precede the bountiful 
autumn, when rest and festivity cause to forget the 
labors of the past seasons, and we find that all has hap- 
pily terminated for good. 

This general subject may be contemplated to ad- 
vantage, by taking into consideration the labors and 
sufferings of our blessed Redeemer, all which terminate 
in giving him rest in his love. After the prophet Isai- 
ah gave a most circumstantial account of the Saviour's 



356 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

sufferings and the object of them, in which account 
ne states the following : " He was wounded for our 
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed," he further says ; " He shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ; 
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify ma- 
ny for he shall bear their iniquities." St. Paul informs 
us that the man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom 
for all men to be testified in due time, and that he by 
the grace of God tasted death for every man. And St. 
John says, he is the propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world. Jesus himself says ; the true shepherd 
layeth down his life for the sheep. Now these passa- 
ges all go to show what was the desire of the Sa- 
viour's heart, " who loved us and washed us from our 
sins in his own blood." And they contain evidence 
that the whole of his desire will finally be accomplish- 
ed. When this is done, it will be evident that he rests 
in his love. 

When Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and said ; " O 
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jthou that killest the prophets, 
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often 
would I have gathered thy children together, even as 
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye 
would not ! Behold your house is left unto you deso- 
late ; he further added ; for I say unto you, ye shall 
not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord." It is worthy 
of notice, that in this instance, and on this most in- 
teresting occasion, the Saviour terminated his prophet- 
ic malediction in a way to give place to his blessed 
appearance and his being hailed with " Blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord." Thus the 
blessed Jesus rested no where but in his love. 

When on the cross, at the close of his sufferings, 
the dear Redeemer manifested that love was his rest- 
ing place. He prayed for his enemies, saying; "Fa- 
ther forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

Keep in mind that the whole which love desires 
must be accomplished in order that love may give 



LECTURES. 357 

rest. If the Saviour loved his enemies, if he loved 
sinners, if he designed their redemption, their forgive- 
ness, and salvation, can he ever rest in this love un- 
less this desire be granted ? " He shall see of the tra- 
vail of his soul and be satisfied." But he never can 
be satisfied with any thing short of the joy that was 
set before him, for which he endured the cross, and de- 
spised the shame. 

If, as has been erroneously held, and is now believ- 
ed and taught, after the dispensation of divine mercy 
through Jesus-Christ, shall have accomplished all it ev- 
er will accomplish ; if after it has reconciled all that it 
ever will reconcile, millions are to remain in eternal 
rebellion under the dominion of sin, darkness and 
death ; and if the same blessed mediator, who gave 
himself a ransom for all men, who is the propitiation 
for the sins of the whole world, who by the grace of 
God tasted death for every man, is to execute on those 
wretched millions never ending wrath, how is it that he 
can ever rest in his love ? 

The prophet Isaiah calls the promised Shiloh, " the 
everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace." But 
with what propriety he can be called a father to those 
for whom he has no mercy is utterly inconceivable ; 
or how he is properly called the prince of peace, when 
he is the administrator of endless wrath on his own 
subjects, is truly difficult to understand. 

Let us again repeat, in order that love may give 
rest, all that love desires must be accomplished. St. 
Paul exhorted husbands to love their " wives, even as 
Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it ; that 
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of 
water by the word ; that he might present it to him- 
self a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or 
any such thing ; but that it should be holy and with- 
out blemish." According to this declaration Christ 
gave himself for the church because he loved it, and be- 
cause he loved it he undertook to sanctify and cleanse 
it, that he might free it from every spot and wrinkle, 
and present it to himself a glorious church. This 
same Apostle says that Christ gave himself a ransom 



358 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

for all men. All men are therefore of his church. 
His church was unsanctified, unclean, full of spots and 
wrinkles, and inglorious ; but by the ministration of 
the word of life, he will sanctify and cleanse it. But 
short of the completion of this work, he cannnot rest 
in his love. The uncleanness of human nature was 
the reason why his love moved him to the ministration 
of his cleansing word, and as long as one spot or wrin- 
kle remains the washing must be continued ; but when 
sin is finished, when all shall know the Lord from the 
least to the greatest, then will that love which moved 
the Saviour to give himself for us, afford a heaven of 
rest to him whose soul travailed for man's salvation. 

Our subject may be profitably contemplated by ap- 
plying it to the love which actuates the christian's 
heart ; and especially to the love which moves the 
faithful minister of Jesus Christ to be vigilant in his 
ministry. And here let us remark, that as Jesus un- 
dertook the ministry of his grace from pure love to 
sinners, so it is indispensably necessary that the minis- 
ters of his word of life should have the same love 
which moved their divine master to our redemption. 
If Jesus had had no love for mankind, if he had been 
as strenuous for man's endless misery as many appear 
to be in our day, he never would have given himself 
for us. Remember the caution which our Saviour ob- 
served with Peter. " Simon Peter, lovest thou me ?" 
being answered in the affirmative, says ; " feed my 
sheep." He did not say, terrify and frighten my 
sheep ; but feed my sheep ; and Peter did most faith- 
fully feed the sheep ; and it was because of the love 
which he bore to the chief shepherd, and to the sheep. 
And this was the case with the whole of that immortal 
band of Apostles who went forth to feed the flock, 
which Christ had purchased with his own blood, and 
to wash the church with the washing of water by the 
word. They labored, they suffered, but they had 
peace and rest. They rested in that triumphant love 
which incited them to the work of the ministry. But 
this love could have given them no rest, if it had not 
the power to promise success to their labors. 



BALLOU'S LECTURES. 359 

For many centuries the ministry in the christian 
church has seemed to labor more to persuade people 
into a belief of the general failure of the gospel dispen- 
sation, than to inspire a hope that its success will 
eventually correspond with the universal and impartial 
love of the Saviour; and though the preachers have 
uniformly professed great love for sinners, and a wil- 
lingness to exert all their means to prevent the ever- 
lasting ruin of souls, yet they have as constantly in 
sisted that they shall rejoice in heaven to see the un 
converted part of their congregations in a state of hope- 
less misery ! But how is this consistent with the idea 
of resting in their love ? It is easy to conceive how 
the minister of the word rests in his love to the people 
and to the gospel, if he has the prospect bright before 
him, of the final, full, and entire success of the min- 
istry. — St. Paul says ; " Having this ministry we faint 
not." But what is the peculiar nature of this minis- 
try which caused the Apostles not to faint ? See the 
answer in the same Apostle's words ; " Who hath 
made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of 
the letter, but of the spirit ; for the letter killeth, but 
the spirit giveth life." Possessing the love for mankind 
which the Apostles evidently did, they must have faint- 
ed if their ministry had been a ministry of death ; but 
their ministry was a ministry of life, of righteousness, 
and reconciliation, in which they labored that they 
might " present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 

The same spirit of love, which gives rest to the faith- 
ful minister of the word of life, is the rest of every 
true believer. It is acknowledged by all denomina- 
tions of christians, that the spirit of Christ is the spirit 
of love, and that this love extends to all mankind. 
With the different persuasions among us, there is but 
one sentiment on this subject. All christian people 
profess to love the whole human family, and to pray 
for the salvation of all. Now since this is uniformly 
the case, let us ask, what rest can they have while ex- 
ercising this generous love and benevolence, and yet 
believing that millions of their fellow creatures must 
inevitably, not only be excluded the joys and peace 



360 BALLOU'S LECTURES. 

of heaven, but be the subjects of positive misery for 
ever? 

It is true we have been told the extravagant story 
that the saints in heaven will rejoice forever in the. ev- 
erlasting misery of the unconverted. We have been 
told, that parents will rejoice in the sentence of end- 
less condemnation passed on their own offspring in the 
eternal world ! But will this be resting in love ? If 
parents have as much love for their children in the next 
state as they have here, will that love allow them to 
rest in heaven, while their offspring are tortured in ev- 
erlasting burnings ? No, allowing the doctrine of fu- 
ture endless misery, those who rest must rest in eter- 
nal hatred ! but in hatred there is no rest. 

My brethren, did you ever find rest in a spirit of 
enmity ? in a disposition to rejoice in another's mise- 
ry ? Is it possible for unmerciful wrath to give rest ? 
No, if we ever find rest eilher in this world or in the 
next, it must be in love. And love, that it may give 
rest, must have its vast desires accomplished. 

What an unbounded field of glory and beauty our 
subject presents to our rejoicing eyes ! The vast, 
the unbounded, the incomprehensible love of our heav- 
enly Father, is his eternal rest. After all his judg- 
ments, after all his righteous indignation is fulfilled on 
all his enemies, he will retain his unchangeable love to 
all his offspring, and rest forever in seeing all the de- 
sires of his universal, impartial love fully accomplished. 

Jesus, the mediator, who loved us and gave himself 
for us, shall see of the travail of his soul, and be sat- 
isfied, shall see all the desires of his heart accomplish- 
ed, shall have the heathen for his inheritance and the 
uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, and 
shall rest in his love for mankind forever. 

The apostles of the Lamb, who following the steps 
and the example of their divine master, loved the hu- 
man race, labored in the ministry of righteousness, 
and reconciliation, suffered the loss of all earthly things 
for the establishment and promotion of the truth, shall 
see all the desires of their love fulfilled, and rest in their 
love. 



361 

All the faithful successors of the Apostles, in the 
ministry, who have been excited by the powerful influ- 
ences of the spirit of love, to fulfil their ministry, in the 
Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God, 
shall see all the desires of their love fulfilled in the re- 
conciliation of all things to God, through Jesus, and 
shall rest forever in their love. 

Every true believer in Jesus, who hath been quick 
ened by the spirit of the gospel, which is the spirit of 
love, shall see the boundless desires of his heart fulfill- 
ed in the subjection of every creature in heaven and 
on earth, to the authority and love of Christ, and shall 
forever rest in his love. 

To conclude — My friends, let us never seek rest but 
in love. " Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." 
" Let us love one another, for love is of God." " He 
that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." 



m 



LECTURE XXVI. 

CACY OF C 

MARK v. 81. 
Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched ine 1 

The occasion of these words was the following cir- 
cumstance. One of the rulers of the synagogue, of 
the name of Jairus, came to Jesus, and falling down at 
his feet, besought him most earnestly, saying, " my lit- 
tle daughter lies at the point of death. I pray thee 
come and lay thy hands upon her, that she may be heal- 
ed, and she shall live." The compassionate Saviour was 
moved at a petition which flowed so directly from a pa- 
rent's heart, and which indicated such strong faith in his 
power to heal. He immediately went with the afflicted 
father. No sooner was it known that he was going to heal 
the sick child, than a great crowd of people followed and 
pressed hard upon him. They were, no doubt, ex- 
tremely anxious to be eye witnesses of the miracle. 
In this vast concourse there was a *xman who had 
been afflicted for twelve years with a distressing dis- 
order, " and had suffered many things of many physi- 
cians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing 
bettered, but rather grew worse." This afflicted wo- 
man had lost all hopes of recovery by the assistance 
of human aid; indeed she was poor and pennyless. 
Her little estate had already passed over into the hands 
of her physicians, who in room of doing her any good, 
had caused her many painful sufferings. Destitute, 
alone and friendless, a thought came into her mind, 
and it immediately formed itself into a resolution ac- 
companied with a perfect confidence, that if she could 
by any possible means, press through the crowd of peo 



363 

pie so as to but touch the clothes of Jesus she should 
be made whole. 

It is scarcely possible to imagine a circumstance 
more calculated to excite exertion than this. She was, 
no doubt, a very feeble person, a great multitude of 
people were crowding, and pressing to keep close to 
Jesus that they might not miss of seeing the miracle. 
The difficulty of getting through the crowd was, no 
doubt very great ; but salvation was so near and so 
desirable, that it invigorated her feeble system to such 
a degree that her efforts were availing. It is not un- 
likely that we may form a pretty correct idea of the 
manner of this woman's exertions on this occasion. 
She would naturally direct her eyes toward Jesus and 
get a glimpse of him as often as possible ; when it so 
happened that she could, by the greatest exertion get 
before one of the crowd, she never let the opportunity 
slip; one step gained was cautiously kept; she was: 
careful that no one should crowd her back ; she look- 
ed well to her feet that they should not slide ; spake 
not a word to any one lest she might miss an opportu- 
nity to advance ; the nearer she gets to the prize the 
stronger and more active she grows, till she eagerly 
reaches forth her hand and touches the garment of the 
Saviour. She now realizes her faith, her confidence 
has not deceived her, she is made whole. 

Though this woman did not once think that the Sa- 
viour was apprehensive of her approach, we have good 
reason to believe that he who knew the very thoughts 
of men's hearts, who saw Nathaniel under the fig-tree, 
knew her case, her faith and the efforts she had made 
to come to him. Immediately after this woman touch- 
ed his garment, he turned himself about in the press 
and, as if surprised that any one should touch him, 
said, who touched my clothes ? The disciples, being 
ignorant of the particular case, and surprised that 
their master should ask who touched him, when he 
had, for some time, been pressed with the crowd of 
people all around him, said to him, " thou seest the 
multitude thronging thee, and savest thou who tOUCh- 
ed me ?" Jesus made them no reply, but cast his eyes 



364 

round to see her, who had done this thing, when the 
woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done 
in her, come and fell down before him, and told him 
all the truth. And he said unto her, " daughter, thy 
faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace, and be whole 
of thy plague." 

Our subject, as it now lies before us, seems to sug- 
gest the following particulars for consideration. 

I. What appertains to the subject of the power of 
Jesus to heal the natural disorders of the human body. 

II. The consideration of this power as indicating the 
moral excellency of the doctrine of Jesus, and its effi- 
cacy in removing the moral and spiritual maladies of 
mankind. 

III. The similarity between the disorders of the body 
and those of the mind. 

IV. As there were no natural complaints that were 
too malignant to be cured by the miraculous power of 
Jesus, it seems to justify the inference that there are no 
cases of moral or spiritual disorder, which are beyond 
the reach of the divine efficacy of his grace. 

V. The natural inducements which led the infirm to 
Jesus, may be used to represent those of a moral na- 
ture which lead the rational mind to the doctrine of 
Christ. 

VI. A noticeable difference in the motives of people 
who crowd the places of public worship where the 
healing doctrine of Jesus is preached, is signified by 
the crowding multitude who pressed continually on Je- 
sus, and the special cause of the woman's approach. 
And 

VII. The resolution and perseverance of this wo- 
man may be used in a way to encourage sinners to 
come to Christ. 

But that the hearer may not be troubled to retain 
these particulars, the whole subject, we say, is to be 
seen by examining it in a natural and moral sense. 

The miraculous power of Jesus was so manifested, 
that even his bitterest enemies did not pretend to de- 
ny that miracles were wrought by him ; they however, 
attributed that power to an evil demon, or Beelzebub. 



365 

The miracles of Jesus were done in such a public 
manner, and in such vast numbers, that not only his 
keenest eyed enemies who surely would have been able 
to have detected any imposition on the public, were 
fully convinced. But the thousands who were healed of 
all manner of diseases, remaining among the people of 
different parts of the country, were living testimonies 
by which these miracles were established, and the fame 
of the divine physician sent abroad through every re- 
gion- . . '. . . 

Respecting these miraculous cures, it is of import- 
ance to notice, that no partiality was ever known to 
have any influence in the bestowment of such favors ; 
nor have we any account, that any worthiness in the 
subject was ever inquired for, or that any known un- 
worthiness excluded any from these mercies. In these 
particulars the miraculous cures wrought by Jesus, bear 
the indubitable marks of the true divinity. Had Jesus 
made any distinctions, and had he healed some and re- 
fused to heal others in the same condition, the use 
of his miraculous power would have exhibited infallible 
marks of the wisdom of this world, which has for ages 
subverted the gospel of Christ, by teaching for doctrine 
the vain tradition, that some only of the human race 
were elected from all eternity unto everlasting life, 
while the residue were by as early a decree, reprobat 
ed fr m the divine favor forever. But the blessed Je 
sus neither preached nor practiced such a sentiment. 
Again, had the Saviour been careful to confer his mi- 
raculous favors according to character, had he minute- 
ly investigated the conduct of the infirm and sick and 
confined his favors to the virtuous, he would then have 
given, by way of example, some support to the doc- 
trine of men, in which they have confined the favor 
and mercy of God to the virtuous. But Jesus said, ? 
"I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to 
repentance." 

We have every reason necessary for believing, that 

the gracious design of our heavenly Father, in giving 

such power to Jesus, extended beyond the temporal 

benefits received by those who were healed of their in- 

31* 



366 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

firmities. It is generally argued by christians, that the 
miracles of Jesus were designed as evidences of his 
Messiahship or divine mission ; and this we may safe- 
ly believe, and yet believe that the design ex- 
tends still further. What benefit, we may ask, is 
there in believing that Jesus was the Messiah ? The 
answer is, that we may receive him as a divine teacher, 
and believe in his doctrine. But the inquiry does not 
end here. What benefit is there in believing his doc- 
trine ? — The answer is, a belief in his doctrine is a rem- 
edy for the moral evil of our nature; or in other words, 
the doctrine of Jesus is a cure for all the disorders of 
sin, and our belief in this doctrine is a mean of its 
healing effects in the mind. If the doctrine of Jesus 
Christ were not possessed of this power, it seems im- 
possible to understand the great necessity of its being 
propagated in our world. 

The notion that this doctrine consists of a long 
string of abstract articles of faith, which have been 
written into human creeds, the belief of which is pro- 
posed in the gospel as a condition of our being made 
eternally happy in a future state, is so perfectly desti- 
tute of reason, and so foreign from the nature of events 
which take place in the system of causes and effects, 
that it is by no means entitled to any share of our con- 
fidence. 

The belief of the truth itself is of no other advantage 
than its effects in delivering from sin ; and changing 
the mind into the divine image. The miraculous 
cures wrought by the Saviour consisted in removing 
the natural disorders of the human body, so that the 
leper was cleansed, the deaf made to hear, the blind to 
see, the lame to walk, and the dead to live. And in 
all these cases the divine efficacy of his doctrine was 
most plainly indicated. For it is the knowledge of the 
divine and glorious truths which compose his doctrine 
that cleanses from sin and moral defilement. God 
does not forgive the wicked as a compensation for be- 
lieving in certain tenets, but forgiveness of sin means 
no more nor less tfyan is expressed in the following 
words of scripture ; " In that day there shall be a foun- 



LECTURES. 367 

tain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness. Behold 
the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
world. Who hath loved us, and washed us from our 
sins in his own blood. That he might sanctify and 
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. 
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as 
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be 
as wool." 

Between the disorders of the human body, and those 
of the mind, there seems to be no small resemblance. 
Both are the natural productions of the constitution of 
the creature, who was made subject to vanity, not will- 
ingly, but by reason of him who subjected the same in 
hope. Both are promoted by the indulgence of ap- 
petites and passions, both become inveterate by habit. 
Natural blindness and ignorance of divine things are 
so very similar that the scriptures use the same word 
to signify both, and the Saviour represents sinners by 
those who are sick. 

If the mind of the hearer has consented to the idea 
that the miraculous cures performed by Jesus on the 
bodies of people, were designed to indicate the power 
of his grace to cleanse from sin and moral defilement, 
we may proceed to consider one of the most glorious 
truths, which the gospel was designed to reveal. This 
great truth is seen in the following argument. As 
there were no natural disorders which were too stubborn 
for the miraculous power of Jesus to remove, no de- 
moniac so raving that Jesus could not clothe him in 
his right mind, none so strongly locked in the dark 
house of death that he could not call them from thence, 
we infer, that no degree or description of sin, howev- 
er chronical, however inveterate, is beyond the power 
of divine mercy to wash away. 

We are informed that there was one instance of a 
possessed of a devil whose case was beyond the power 
of the disciples of Jesus ; but Jesus cast him out, and 
told the disciples that their unbelief was the reason 
that they failed of this miracle. The same may be the 
case with many even now, they can find sins which 



368 BALLOTj's LECTURES. 

they think cannot be washed away, but all this is o\ 
ing to their unbelief. 

The case of Lazarus was attended with peculiar civ 
cumstances which may be profitably noticed in the 
present argument. When Jesus advanced toward the 
sepulchre, the weeping sister Martha exclaimed, 
" Lord, by this time he stinketh ; for he hath been 
dead four days." Probably her thoughts were the fol- 
lowing. Hadst thou but come in season, such is thy 
power, thou mightst have prevented my brother's 
death, or even after his breath had left his body, possi- 
bly hadst thou been here to exert thy power before 
corruption had begun its work, the event might have 
been to the praise of thy glorious power and to our 
consolation. But the precious time is gone, the oppor- 
tunity is lost, four days have surely carried my broth- 
er beyond the reach of thy restoring power. But not- 
withstanding all this reasoning, at the words of Jesus, 
" Lazarus, come forth," the dead was raised. 

Like faithless Martha, many who profess to be the 
disciples of Jesus, have made their calculations, by which 
they have bounded the grace of God, and carried sin- 
ners of a certain character beyond those limits. It 
is frequently the topic of our preachers, to set forth, 
in the most lamentable language, the awful situation 
of thousands and millions of their fellow-creatures, who, 
they say, will come short of the divine mercy, through 
delay. Had they exerted their powers in season, had 
they improved their precious moments of probation, 
all would have been well and the prize secure. But it 
is now too late. The door of mercy is shut. And 
though the poor wretched sinner would now givo a 
thousand worlds, if he had them, for one hour in which 
he might repent, he is denied the privilege of repent- 
ing forever. 

With such appalling language as this, and more to 
the utmost stretch of imagination assisted by the blind- 
est enthusiasm, the feeble nerves and delicate minds 
of women and children are terrified into a kind of reli- 
ligious delirium. But surely one plain testimony of 
divine truth removes all those gloomy fears. " Where 
sin abounded, grace did much more abound." 



369 

Rut it is not enough that we prove the proposition 
that, the grace of God revealed in the gospel is suffi- 
cient to take away the sin of the world ; it is of still 
greater consequence that the mind should understand 
the nature of this great truth. For this kind of know- 
ledge is that which changes the mind from darkness 
to light, and delivers it from the reigning power of sin 
to the love of holiness and to the obedience of the 
just. 

The doctrine of Jesus Christ reveals the divine char- 
acter to the understanding whereby the sinner is 
brought to know God, whom to know is life eternal ; 
God is love, and love has the power to transform the 
mind into its own image ; God is justice, and justice 
forms its own character in the heart of its moral sub- 
ject ; God is truth, and truth drives out error and takes 
up its residence in the soul ; God is holiness, and holi- 
ness washes out every stain of sin, and implants in the 
mind a love to its divinity. The sinner thus saved, 
thus delivered from sin, is made rationally happy in the 
enjoyment of those moral perfections which are the nat- 
ural elements a moral being. All that can be termed 
sinfulness is just as contrary to the health of the soul, 
as disorders of the body are to the health of the body. 
And all the salvation which a sick man needs is to be 
delivered from his sickness, and all the salvation a sin- 
ner needs is to be saved from his sins. 

The opinion that a time will ever come when it will 
not be just "in *he nature of things for a sinner to re- 
pent, embraces and necessarily implies the absurdity 
that it will be just for the sinner to continue in sin ! 

But the common doctrine of the church contends 
that if men do not repent of their sins in this life, they 
will not be allowed the privilege of repenting in a fu- 
ture state, and therefore must remain sinful forever. 
Now all these notions are the offspring of imagination, 
and have no foundation in reason nor in the scripture 
of truth. The gospel was sent into this world for the 
purpose of reforming mankind, and reconciling the na- 
tions to God. It was needed here, because it is here 
that men are sinners. If it could be proved that the 



370 BALLOu's LECTURES. 

next state of existence is one subject to these moral in- 
firmities, what reason can there be offered that their 
remedy will not be found in that state as well as in 
this. We have physicians and medicine in this mor- 
tal state, and it is thought by some that there are me- 
dicines in every climate sufficient for the disorders of 
that climate. Now if the next state be incident to 
sickness and disorders, what reason can there be offer- 
ed that there will not be physicians and suitable me- 
dicines in that state to cure those disorders ? — When 
the great physician of souls was here on earth, he 
was never known to shun a place because sickness 
or wickedness was there. He, no doubt, knew 
that legions possessed the man in the country of 
the Gadarenes, yet he went there, and there he cast 
out the devils ; and if on the other side of death le- 
gions of demons possess men no doubt Jesus will in 
due time cast them out. 

The hearer is cautioned against supposing that we 
allow that the next state will be subject to sickness or 
to sin ; we distinctly say that the evidence of this is 
wanting both in scripture and reason. 

As the inconveniences of sickness and disorder are 
sufficient to induce the patient to apply to a physician, 
so the painful infelicities of sin are the proper induce- 
ments to apply to the spiritual physician, whose doc- 
trine is amply efficacious in removing our sins from us. 
The supposition that has taken the lead of the minds 
of religious people, that it would be desirable to live in 
sin in this world, if it were not that it is so offensive to 
God, that he will punish them forever hereafter to show 
his resentment, is one of the most pernicious deceptions 
that ever darkened the understanding of mankind. 
This deception is the means of continuing people in 
the love of sin. They long to live in it, and would 
without restraint, were it not for this system of fear. 
But it has been fully proved that this terror is no real 
security to a virtuous life. Those who are the strong- 
est advocates for this doctrine of tormenting men in 
another world, because they have been sinners here, 
are, in general, as wicked men as any other class. It 



371 

is true they endeavor to be more secret in the practice 
of vice, but this only adds the wickedness of hypocrisy 
to the rest of their sins. These remarks are by no 
means directed against any particular denomination, 
they are designed for general application. The fact 
is, if men are really virtuous, they are so from the love 
they have for the moral principles of our common na- 
ture ; and we are happy to find some of this descrip- 
tion among all denominations and in every class of 
citizens. 

It would be most glaringly absurd for one to tell a 
sick man languishing with distressing pain, that there 
is no penal law by which any punishment can be in- 
flicted on him for being sick, he had better not send 
for a physician, nor give himself any trouble about re- 
covering his health. A patient who should be treated 
with such communication would surely think himself 
trifled with. If one who knew the situation of the 
woman, who pressed through the crowd to reach the 
garment of Jesus, had told her, that no punishment 
would be inflicted on her if she did not go to him, and 
therefore she might indulge in the pleasures of her dis- 
order, would she have supposed the person serious ? 
But this would have been no more absurd than it is to 
tell sinners, that if there had been no everlasting dam- 
nation in the eternal world for their sins in this, they 
may indulge in all the pleasures of sin. As sin is a 
disorder it certainly deprives of happiness, and plunges 
the sinner into misery ; and if there be any propriety 
in urging those who are sick to apply to a physician, 
there certainly is the same propriety in urging sinners 
to come to Christ, that is, to come to his doctrine, to 
his truth, to his spirit. And the language of the Re- 
deemer's invitation is most reasonable ; " Come unto 
me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest." 

The motives which influenced the multitude, who 
thronged Jesus as he went to the house of Jairus, were 
no doubt various. Some probably, saw Jesus now for 
the first time, and were highly incited with the hope of 
seeing a miracle wrought. Perhaps others were his 



372 

bitter enemies, and were on the look out to discover 
some fraud or deception in the man. Some went in 
the crowd because others were going, and they went 
for the sake of the company. Some no doubt went 
from the laudable motive of giving their countenance 
and support to the divine teacher in whom they most 
sincerely believed. Some very likely were there who 
had experienced the healing power of the Redeemer, 
and were rejoiced to have an opportunity of seeing a 
miracle of mercy again performed. But among the 
whole there was one distressed woman whose mind 
was far from speculative contemplations. She was im- 
pelled to press through the crowd that she might be 
healed of her own infirmity. 

As it was with the multitude, who, on various occa- 
sions thronged our Saviour in the days of his minis- 
try on earth, when some for one motive and some for 
another joined those vast assemblies, so, no doubt, it 
is with those who now assemble where the healing doc- 
trine of Jesus is preached. Some from curiosity, some 
from habit, some from fashion, some to keep the com- 
pany of others, some we hope go because they love the 
words of everlasting life, and now and then one, per- 
haps, who feeling the infirmity of their own sinful 
heart, go with a determination to press through every 
obstacle and come to Jesus, who is the way, the truth, 
and the life ; who is the fountain opened for sin and 
uncleanness. 

While delivering this course of lectures your servant 
has often thought of the possible motives which occa- 
sioned such uncommon assemblies to crowd every 
part of this house, and a hope has been entertained 
that among the many, a lew at least, were striving to 
find him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets 
did write. A fervent desire has been exercised that 
the doctrine of our blessed Redeemer might be held 
up to the view of the hearers, that they might reach 
forth the hand of faith and lay hold on the hope which 
is set before them. 

Being taught by the Saviour, we did not indulge in 
an expectation that the word of truth, would be receiv- 



LECTURES. 373 

ed and kept by all who heard it. Jesus represented 
the success of his own preaching by the instructive 
parable of the sower, who went forth to sow ; " and 
as he sowed some seeds fell by the way side, and the 
fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon 
stony places, where they had not much earth ; and 
forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deep- 
ness of earth, and when the sun was up they were 
scorched ; and because they had no root they withered 
away. And some fell among thorns ; and the thorns 
sprang up and choked them. But others fell into 
good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hun- 
dred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold." If such 
has been the success of those feeble efforts made to 
propagate the gospel of the kingdom in this place, 
surely we have reason to be thankful to the Lord of 
the vineyard. If while the enemies of the word have, 
like the birds in the parable, taken away that which 
was sown in the heart, if while the spirit of persecu- 
tion agitating the tongue of censure has caused many 
to shrink from a steady perseverance in what they 
gladly received, if while the cares of the world, the 
deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things 
have, like thorns, sprang up and choked the word in 
some, others have received it in good and honest 
hearts, have retained the precious grain, and brought 
forth fruit to the honor of God, our labors have not 
been in vain, our exertions are amply rewarded. 

This last, of the course of lectures proposed for pub- 
lication, in its conclusion, will call on all who hear, to 
form the resolution which enabled the woman to press 
through the crowd and come to Jesus, and come to 
him likewise. That is, that you strive to the utmost 
of your well directed abilities and means to come to 
the knowledge of the Saviour's doctrine. 

Is it not the case with many, as it was with the 
woman, have you not spent much and suffered many 
things of those " physicians *of no value," who have 
endeavored to heal you with the doctrines and com- 
mandments of men ? and do you not find that after 
all you are none the better? Have you found peace 
32 



374 

in believing that our heavenly Father has elected some 
to everlasting life, and reprobated the rest to endless 
wo ? Have you found that all your plague is healed 
by fancying that you are elected unto life eternal, 
while your companions and children may be devoted to 
everlasting sorrow ? Can such medicine as this make 
you perfectly whole. No, but in the bitterness of your 
souls, when you look on your little ones, and believe 
that they are exposed to endless ruin, you cry out as 
Abraham did, " that Ishmael might live before the 
Lord." Come then, my friends, to the peaceful doc- 
trine of Jesus, who took little children in his arms and 
blessed them, and said, " of such is the kingdom of 
heaven." O the peace there is in believing this tes- 
timony ? It overcomes the plague of unbelief, and fills 
the heart with joy. 

Can you find any real relief from the power of a 
carnal heart, by believing that your immortal state de- 
pends on your own good works in this imperfect state ? 
Do you feel whole from all your plagues by believ- 
ing in this prevailing doctrine which rest the weight 
of eternity on the imperfect works of mortality and 
time ? This doctrine of human contrivance, always 
associates the " heart- chilling" doctrine of endless mis- 
ery for those who come short of their duty, with every 
pleasing prospect of a world of joy for those who by 
their good works win the immortal prize. This doc 
trine as well as that of election and reprobation makes 
an eternal separation between those of the most en- 
dearing connexions on earth. Why is there so much 
mourning, so much gloominess on the countenances 
of those who hope to gain immortal glory by their 
works ? Is it because they have pressed through the 
superstitions of the church and caught hold of the gar- 
ment of the Saviour ? No, this is not the case. They 
have endeavored to mend their own garments, and 
they find the rent is continually growing worse. Let 
such come to the Saviour's doctrine, and believe thai 
the gift of God is eternal life, and they shall find peace 
in believing and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

Nothing short of that which God has implanted in 



375 

the soul can satisfy the mind. The apostle says ; the 
word is nigh thee, even in thy heart and in thy mouth, 
the word of faith which we preach. This word of 
faith is the gift of God, which is eternal life in Jesus ; 
and nothing short of this can satisfy the mind. While 
we oppose this principle we oppose our own happi- 
ness ; and while we shut one individual of the human 
family away from this word of life, we bring death to 
our own souls in so doing. 

Some are so embarrassed with one doctrine and some 
with another, that they are prevented from coming to 
the doctrine of Jesus. Many, very many, are striving 
to feed on the husks that the unclean eat, and neglect 
to come to Christ. The vanities of youth, the pride 
and fashions of the age keep thousands back from com- 
ing to the purifying religion of Jesus ; and yet his will- 
ing, his gracious arms are extended, as in the last day, 
that great day of the feast, when he stood and cried, 
" If any man thirst let him come to me and drink." 

To conclude — My christian friends, I feel it my du- 
ty as well as a pleasure, when I reflect on the more 
than ordinary attention which you have paid to these 
lectures, and the liberal patronage with which you have 
favored their publication, to tender you my most grate- 
ful acknowledgments. And while T am constrained 
deeply to regret that my labors should come so short 
of the great subjects on which I have treated, I hum- 
bly prostrate my soul before God, and implore his for- 
giveness in every particular wherein I have erred 
through ignorance or infirmity ; and earnestly entreat 
that these feeble efforts may be attended with the bles- 
sing of him who fed thousands of men, women and 
children with so small a portion. And to his name 
alone be all the glory. — Amen. 



(ft 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



